Journey Back to Babel
by Kerjen
Summary: Set the day after Journey to Babel, Saavik's ship, carrying Spock and other diplomats, is thrown into a time warp, set by a saboteur. They find themselves side by side with Kirk's Enterprise on its way to Babel. As they battle against the enemy, their children become weapons, Kirk & Saavik's ships are used against them, and Sarek is forced to choose: billions of lives or his family
1. Chapter 1

USS _Enterprise_ NCC-1701, Sickbay

"Report, Scotty!" Kirk snapped.

The landing party didn't have visual capability; that left Kirk staring at the strange ship that drifted off the _Enterprise_ 's port side. Worse, he had to do it on a small bedside monitor, lying in Sickbay.

The other ship showed no damage on the hull from a battle or anything else that could set it to drift. The shields were down though; maybe the ship had damage not visible.

His chief engineer answered immediately. "Her inside is much like her outside, Captain. The lines are Starfleet, but nae anything I've ever seen. The crew is unconscious and power is at a minimum. I sent a team to its bridge while I go to Engineering. Or at least where we think is Engineering."

Starfleet and not Starfleet - and the saucer section emblazoned with USS _Contact_ NCC-26546. Nothing in Starfleet had a registry number like that.

Plus its structure: definitely a heavy cruiser like the _Enterprise_ , but she – this _Contact_ – was massive: more decks to the primary and secondary hulls and a more streamlined saucer and body. The pylons were flattened and connected to the warp engines at a ninety-degree angle. The navigational deflector sat fully recessed inside the ship and glowed blue. So did the sides of the nacelles.

"Can it be a prototype, Scotty?"

"Captain, what I'm seeing is too many jumps ahead of anything we have, and that's without a glimpse of her engines. It's even ahead of any rumors in the journals."

Kirk asked, "Any chance this is all to draw us in?" Those shields were down and that might be the reason.

"Nae, sir. No scans show anything like it, but we're watching ourselves."

"What about the crew?"

"That'd be my department, Jim," McCoy cut in the line. Uhura on the bridge must have had him patched in so he'd be readily on hand. "I'm seeing the same sort of things Scotty is. I'm looking at lifeforms that I can't identify. I'm headed for the bridge."

That did it for Kirk and he turned to his first officer, who was also in the blue and black clothes of a Sickbay patient. "So am I, to ours. Spock, you're with me."

"Don't even think about it, Jim! It's too soon after your injury and you've aggravated it enough by being on the bridge during the Orion attack!"

Kirk's head swam and his legs wanted to buckle just from getting up. He hated when McCoy was right about these things.

But he wasn't going to listen without a fight. "I should have been there as soon as scans picked up that ship."

"I told you that you needed a couple of days. I didn't make that up, and Scotty's doing everything right."

Spock got slowly to his feet, hovering near Kirk's elbow. "Mr. Scott did react properly, Captain."

Kirk knew it. When the drifting ship was found, the engineer was in command. He scanned the other ship and hailed it, notifying his captain immediately. When it was necessary, he ordered landing parties and for Sulu to take the conn.

So his captain couldn't fault Scotty's orders, but he couldn't stop the aggravation that _he_ wasn't the one giving them. He stared at the image of this mystery ship, yearning for his captain's chair or to be leading those landing parties. "Bones-"

McCoy shouted over him. "Chris, are you there?"

Chapel came from the back corner where she had been watching. "Yes, Doctor."

"If he tries to leave, knock him out! Under my orders. And if that doesn't keep you where you really need to be, Captain, I'll remind you I can have you declared unfit for duty for weeks! Scotty's got things in hand. Let us do our jobs."

Kirk chewed the inside his lip. He would love to push further over this, but not in front of his other officers or his audience. Amanda hovered over Sarek, who was deep in healing sleep; she stayed carefully out of the way, but couldn't help but pay attention to what was going on.

She was also a physical reminder that their time was limited. He must get the ambassadors to Babel over the Coridan issue; he couldn't stay here as long as he wanted, figuring out what this ship was. "Release Spock then, Bones."

He didn't get the answer he expected from McCoy. "Wait a minute, Jim."

Kirk turned to the Vulcan. "Spock?"

"I have no theories as of yet, Captain. If, as Mr. Scott says, the technology shows an unusual progress for Starfleet-"

"Jim, one of my people found Vulcan lifesigns in what looks like a cargo bay. I'm almost there now."

"McCoy, belay that! Vulcans working a cargo bay is less important than going to the bridge and finding the captain."

"These lifesigns are coming from-" McCoy gave a sudden curse. " _Enterprise_ , I need immediate beam out! Two others in my party with three Vulcans. Now!"

"Bones-!"

"They're kids, Jim! We found them stuffed in a crate! They're unconscious like everyone else except they're drugged."

Kirk instantly echoed McCoy's order. Amanda left Sarek's bedside and rushed up to Spock who stood in tight lines. She started to talk, but McCoy rushing in with two crewmen, each holding a child's limp form, stopped everybody.

McCoy passed the girl he was holding to Spock. "Here! Since you want to override my orders to rest, you can give up your bed. You too, Jim, find a place to sit. Get off your feet. Chris, I need another bed for this boy so I can examine them. Oh hell, we're short one. I'm not moving Sarek, or separating these kids with one in the other room. Put the girls together."

Spock started to lay the girl he held next to her sister on the medical bed, Amanda hurrying over to the other side to help, when the girl stirred. She looked up at Spock, dark eyes disoriented, and mumbled before wrapping naturally against her sister and falling back into unconsciousness. Kirk barely heard what she said - _mekino_? - but Spock snapped up straight, and Amanda's stare went from the girl up to him.

"Spock, what did she say?"

"She… called me her father, Captain. Clearly, a symptom of her disorientation."

Kirk stared again at the lines of the ship on the viewscreen, listening to the background noise of McCoy fussing over the children, running scans. "Bones... Bones! Stop those scans - now!"

McCoy argued, "I got to see if these kids are okay. We don't know what they've been through. The drugs-"

"All right, but just you."

The doctor gave a sideways nod to Chris Chapel and she left the room. So did the two men who had beamed in with McCoy. "What is it, Jim?"

Scotty reported, "Captain, the crew is waking up. We're being ordered off the ship."

McCoy's jaw literally almost dropped as he looked at the scanner and Kirk had to ask, "What is it? The drugs?"

"...No. I got that, but it's something else in the blood test results."

Kirk answered for him: "Spock's their father, isn't he?"

McCoy eyed the Vulcan and finally answered, "Yeah, he is. I don't know – I just ran the DNA comparison out of habit. I thought the kids might be a cousin or something, after what the girl said, and that could help in any treatment I gave them. But the girl's telling the truth."

Amanda swung on her son. "Spock! How could you hide this from us?!"

He stared down at the little girl whose dark hair fanned out from her shoulders to lay on the pillow. "Mother, they cannot be mine. I promise you, I have no children or even the possibility of them."

Kirk told him, "Yes, you do."

Amanda laid her hand on the sleeping girl's head and then her sister; clearly identical twins who instinctively burrowed into each other like just out of the womb. Her granddaughters: Kirk could see Amanda was still trying to fathom even the idea of it. She swung to look at the boy who even asleep looked a lot like Spock.

Spock himself went from the _Contact_ on the screen and back to the girl who had called him her father. His hand hovered to touch her like Amanda was, but then withdrew like he couldn't – or didn't think he had the right.

Kirk questioned why he hadn't made Amanda leave the room too when Chapel left. At the same time, he ordered, "Scotty! Listen to that crew and get our people off the ship immediately. All information that's been gathered is to be deleted, and the landing parties are not to talk to anyone about what they've seen."

He then told, "Bones, delete the scans and the blood tests results."

"Jim, I need to treat these children!"

Kirk wrestled with it for a second. "Fine, but with the same conditions as before. You're the only one who goes near them and only for making sure they're okay after being drugged." He hated doing this to the children – _Spock's_ children, but they faced something bigger. "All information on them must be wiped out afterwards. No argument."

"Jim, why? What's going on?"

"I think we're looking at our future, Bones."


	2. Chapter 2

USS _Contact_ NCC-26546, Bridge

Saavik issued orders the moment she regained consciousness. "Report, are those away teams off the ship?"

Kyle Nachson turned from his station, the light from the red alert catching on his tanned skin and blond hair, bleached from Vulcan's sun. "Aye, Captain. They're back on the _Enterprise_."

"Raise shields," she ordered. Not only for possible hostiles approaching from the outside, but because her ship had been attacked internally, and whoever was responsible might try to go to Kirk's.

Something else she needed to eliminate, just like getting the – landing parties – off the _Contact_. "Take us below them and put distance between us."

The order came back to her. "Dropping below the _Enterprise_."

Saavik knew she might have only heard the beat before the name or it may have actually been there. If it was, it was understandable.

The _Enterprise_ filled the main viewer, the ship from Kirk's first five-year mission, like a traveler through time, even though it was actually the other way around. They had been able to confirm that much, partly due to the Vulcan standing near Saavik's chair.

She looked up to her husband as he watched the screen. "Spock."

He blinked and turned to her. "Fascinating."

"Yes." But she needed to be this ship's captain right now. They would hopefully have time later for privacy and talk about what this meant. Vulcans were true multi-taskers, so a portion of her mind when through what the impact was, especially to him, even as she stayed her crew's commander.

Their view became the other ship's belly and the underside of the saucer. She noticed every person on the bridge glanced up at least once and lingered there. Also understandable.

Spock came to the side of her chair. "If we are to be cautious, and remove their temptation of looking at a ship eighty-five years in their future, we may go to the full extent and remove the lighting."

"By all means, let us do paranoia well. Darken the hull."

Outside, lighting snapped off all around the exterior. Only the glow of the navigational deflector and the warp nacelles remained. That, even with the portholes, could not illuminate the ship.

"All stations report. We will start with you, Mr. Sotraun."

Saavik's Vulcan engineer responded over the comm panel in her chair arm, his voice so deep that Hikaru Sulu said it made his sound like a soprano. That voice, calm with the rumbling tones, anchored his people. So did his enormous size and the unusual gold eyes against his dark brown skin. Some of the humans whispered they made him look mystical. "Engines tests are all positive, Captain. Full control has returned. However, I must draw attention to the fact that we had the same readings before the problem that brought us here. At this moment, if we go forward without establishing how this sabotage was done and if more can be triggered, we could extinguish ourselves. We are testing further."

Saavik merely nodded, but other faces showed disappointment, even a little fear. They and the _Contact_ were played like puppets, and no one knew if they were safe yet.

Thalla Sh'shytral, an Andorian shen female, didn't wait for Saavik to ask. The red alert turned her blue skin to a shade of purple. "I can only echo Engineering, Captain. I have full control of the helm now, but we had it before. We haven't found what was sabotaged or if it will happen again."

Kamila Patrik at the next station rose to her feet. Quite thin with a somewhat narrow build that was all angles, she would be half a head lower than Saavik right now if her captain wasn't sitting down. She was a classic redhead with a peaches and cream complexion that, like everyone else, was affected by the red lighting. She brought over the initial test results. "The report gives how we were effected, but cause and possibility of it happening again are unknown. We're going through it all circuit by circuit, line of code by line of code."

"Captain."

Saavik turned her chair to her first officer, Risteárd Imre, standing next to the seated Bimojigar. Short, a meter and a half, so roughly to Saavik's shoulder, he came by recommendation from Saavik's former captain, Truman Howes. He looked over his shoulder as he got the data together, the large green eyes under the longer, sandy brown hair focused on getting the answers she needed. "Putting together Engineering with the Conn and Ops, the sabotage looks like a worm program."

He stood at Science II. The modified state-of-the-art station split out Communications, rather than bundling it with several functions like on other Starfleet vessels. As Saavik fought with Starfleet Engineering over it, Bimojigar showed up at her office door with a note from Admiral Nyota Uhura, who, naturally, did not have to be told by Saavik to know about the battle going on. Being the head of Starfleet Intelligence meant she heard a lot.

The note read, "Just what the captain ordered." A Communications specialist that could also be an Assistant Science Officer if needed. That shut Starfleet Engineering up. Or Uhura had; Saavik never asked.

She watched Imre slave the station's scientific functions to Science I, giving it higher abilities.

He turned when he finished doing that. "It hit us in all those areas, producing exactly what you think. T'allendil, show the captain."

The _Contact_ had recently undergone a major refit and Saavik had taken full advantage of it. Since bridge configurations varied from one _Ambassador_ -class vessel to another, she jumped at the chance to integrate what up-to-the-minute designs Vulcan had created for their stations, and then added her own tweaks. The result was _her_ bridge, made for her crew, with her as the commander that stood as Vulcan's shield. Spock gave the science station alone looks of approval.

So Saavik's science officer, born on the Kir-alep colony, had something unique at her command. T'allendil was the opposite of her fellow Vulcan in Engineering: delicate, pale, and dark eyed. "The sabotaging program sent us to the limits of our warp factor for a course to Rekonda Alpha-20. It at was this point when we were rendered unconscious. Systems, however, recorded our acceleration, causing the path around Rekonda. Here is the data, Captain."

Saavik brought up the information at her command chair. It confirmed her suspicions and she immediately looked up for Spock's reaction. He read it through carefully before he nodded. "Whoever did this created the light-speed breakaway factor."

By allowing the high gravitational pull of Rekonda Alpha-20 to accelerate the _Contact_ to even faster speeds, the saboteur's calculations then broke them away from the star, creating a whiplash effect and an artificial time warp.

Nachson asked, "A light-speed breakaway factor?"

Saavik hadn't taken her eyes off Spock. "You would have heard it called the slingshot effect. The crew under James T. Kirk's command performed it three times. You will each research their records for getting answers to our situation. Mr. Sh'shytral, what is our location?"

"We are still on course for Babel, Captain."

Babel.

Spock and Saavik immediately went back to the main screen. He said, "Confirm Stardate," appreciating that the crew would respectfully answer, even with his not being in Starfleet anymore.

T'allendil reached out to the closest marker buoy for the current date and coordinates, to double-check the answer. "It is 3844.8, Ambassador."

Saavik didn't need her husband to confirm it. She knew the _Enterprise_ 's missions, but she also knew without him telling her – or even by using the very powerful bond between - just what was going through his mind. What she did do with their bond is pour all the love and support she felt for him into it.

Because this just wasn't McCoy, Chekov, and his other shipmates. It wasn't just his younger self being there. It was all of that plus Sarek and—

-and Amanda, his mother, and Kirk alive again. In their future, in her Spock's past, they would die within a year of each other.

Saavik did not compare her own loss to his. Still, the part of her mind that went over it all brought back Amanda's smile; her stubborn and commanding looks; the light touches as she pushed a lock of hair behind Saavik's ear or touched her on the arm; how she had told Saavik she was loved. How Amanda had called her, "my favorite stray."

Saavik heard Kirk again challenging her, fighting for her, supporting her, and telling her that she would be brought back to his _Enterprise_ if he had anything to do with it.

As for her husband and what he thought…

The captain part of her mind added the personal to the professional. "If we were entertaining that bringing us to this point was merely a coincidence, I believe it has been ruled out."

Spock noted mildly, "You were not entertaining that thought."

"No, I was not. One of the remaining questions is, what links us to this _Enterprise_ at this point? They are headed to Babel for the Coridan vote, and we were en route to Babel for the anniversary of that vote. Could this be the Orions?"

T'allendil answered, "Scans give no sign of Orions in the area."

"Systems in the area?" Saavik knew them, but hearing the information could trigger a connection now or later. That was true for both her and her crew.

Her science officer listed Endicor, a neutral world, Anteus and Trelos, both Federation members in Saavik's present, and Frubia, another neutral world.

Nothing there.

Saavik turned back to Spock. "You are on both ships, of course."

"But not my parents."

"No. And you did not affect the Coridan vote, other than your work against the Orions. If they wanted to affect Coridan's membership, it seems they would make sure Sarek was aboard this ship as well. So is it you in particular or the _Contact_?" They took a half-beat and Saavik then spoke, "We still have too many unknown factors. Mr. Bimojigar?"

Bimo, as some called her, was Sozon, a people who evolved completely underground, sightless and burrowing in the dark, so Bimojigar lifted a face with small rolls of skin where eyes and eyelids would be. She swayed her head with its thin, pink skin to catch the rhythms of the sound at its best, like a concert pianist at a grand piano. She could tell everything about what a person left unsaid or how they said what they did. Nachson would fondly tell people that she didn't need her station at all.

"Captain, the programming was not triggered or installed from an outside command. Nor did the unknown party make contact to someone outside. Not even before we left, Captain."

Saavik turned over the possibilities. The obvious point was she had a saboteur on board, but an outsider or one of her crew? "Mr. T'allendil, ship wide scan. Confirm our total number and then a break down by species. I want to know if the saboteur is a stowaway as well." That would only take a second. She called out to the air, "Dr. Stewart."

"Stewart here."

"Dr. Stewart, I'm searching for this saboteur."

"You believe he's on board?"

"I have no reason not to eliminate the possibility that he is. In that vein, you must confirm your medical staff _are_ your staff. Scan, blood analysis if necessary, with a comparison to their record."

Frances Stewart got it immediately. "We're looking for imposters."

"In the _Enterprise_ 's original mission to Babel, an Orion passed himself off as an Andorian."

Thalla Sh'shytral's moving antennae swiveled backwards at that.

Saavik continued, "Once this is accomplished, Doctor, form teams. All departments will be checked in the same way as yours."

"Let me guess. Security first."

"Exactly, Doctor. If you can confirm them, your teams are to include a member of Security. No one is to travel alone."

"Yes, Captain," and Stewart signed off.

Saavik got up from her command chair and took a place in the center of her bridge. She gave her officers the quiet power of a Vulcan commander that they needed and expected, and they gave her their attention. "You heard my orders and Dr. Stewart's conclusion. The saboteur could have taken the place of one of the crew. The next conclusion is inevitable. If the saboteur has not taken the place of a crewmember or stowed away, one of us could be responsible. No one is accused at this point and I will claim no one guilty without evidence. If the time comes, you know your responsibility is to this ship. When you consider who in your department may be responsible, you will also need to consider the command staff. That naturally includes myself. Ambassador Spock and the other diplomats are also to be considered."

Saavik looked at her husband. "I will need your assessment of the diplomatic parties."

He nodded.

Her bridge crew did right by her. No one complained, no one suggested they should be excluded, and – what she thought most important – no one said she or Spock should be excluded. They knew their duty.

Nachson suggested, "Going back to how it was done and us trying to find it. This worm program could have deleted itself after it finished bringing us here."

Saavik had thought of that as well and it was more disturbing, in some ways, than if it remained. Finding that sabotage gave them information and they needed information to do anything, including getting the _Contact_ and all of them home.

Saavik looked in the direction of the dedicated emergency turbolift and then again to her first officer. He had moved to a secondary station. "Mr. Imre, are we certain this does not come from the battle bridge?" He didn't answer immediately so she added weight to it. "Mr. Imre."

"Sorry, Captain. Yes, we made sure."

She took a few steps closer to see the station readouts. "You found something?"

"It's minor at this point, but I want to research further."

She trusted his judgement. He'd bring it to her in time, if necessary.

"Captain," Bimojigar called. Her large incisors snapped down into position, showing she was disturbed. "The diplomats have been complaining. I explained what a red alert means and refused them access to you. Nicely."

Spock moved up to her station, his light ambassador's robes turned red under the lights. "Patch me through."

She would, Saavik knew, deftly bring in each diplomat's cabin into a comm group for Spock's use. Nachson called over to her. "You're my naked mole rat queen, Bimo."

She didn't frown because her people didn't know how: such facial expressions never developed in their species, maybe because they couldn't see each other. She also wouldn't frown because her people had the equally rare trait of being eusocial mammals. She missed the extreme closeness of her clan. Nachson and the others knew it; it's why he made such a comment in the middle of a red alert.

Her swaying hitched and then moved on. "I am not a queen, Kyle. I am a secondary female, I do not reproduce. However, I studied the mammal you mentioned, and from what I can surmise, I do look like a large one."

Bimojigar's head swayed to the port side of the bridge. "Someone is coming up the lift, Captain. Most likely from Sickbay. I think it's Ssaalz. I hear talons on the flooring."

Saavik's hearing was excellent, even above the Vulcan norm, but the Sozon certainly reigned above her. The lift doors opened in the next second and Ssaalz, the junior medical officer, did indeed come on to the bridge to perform the scans on the command crew. She was a Carreon; if, as Nachson said, the Sozons looked like Earth's naked mole rats, then the Carreon looked like shoulder high salamanders. Ssaalz had the same black skin of everyone in her species, but her neon stripes were green, where they showed outside her uniform jacket, and her lidless eyes were a dark moss color.

Saavik refused favoritism in her crew. No one got on board, no one stayed there, and no one got preferential treatment simply because of who they knew. Not even Imre with Captain Howes' recommendation or Bimojigar with Uhura's. Each crewmember earned their job and kept it the same way.

But, internally, she let herself feel a warmth at seeing Ssaalz, her very close friend Rrelthiz's youngest and most curious child, who was named after Saavik herself.

A Security officer stood by the lift doors, armed, Saavik was pleased to see.

Spock, of course, wasn't part of the crew, so he could give Ssaalz a look of partiality. But the young Carreon was doing her over-the-top professional routine, worried people would think she _was_ favored. She told no one of her relationship to Saavik, and the people who did know, like Nachson and Stewart, kept it quiet. She started scanning Spock, the medical tricorder held in her seven talons that matched the ones on each foot that Bimojigar had heard.

Saavik turned back to the main viewer, back to the _Enterprise_. It clearly wasn't a coincidence, but then why? It had to be Coridan. Someone wanted to come back here and… stop the Babel vote? It seemed likely.

But it had to be more. Kirk taking the diplomats to that historic vote didn't necessarily need the _Contact_. In fact, Sarek, her father-in-law Sarek, traveled with his wife, Perrin, to the Babel anniversary on another ship; surely it would have been better to bring him back in time. As one of the ambassadors had said then, " _H_ _is vote carries others_."

Spock ended his talk with the other diplomats on board. He caught her looking at him. She said, "I obviously correct my earlier statement. I am now pleased our Sarek is en route on a separate transport." Along with some of the key former _Enterprise_ crewmembers, since they, and Sarek, had been on Earth, meeting with the Federation Council.

Saavik and the _Contact_ were meant to bring the entire Vulcan party, as well as McCoy and the others, home.

"I would add the question," said Saavik, "did our saboteur not know transporting Sarek had changed? Except evidence at this stage proves the saboteur is here, and therefore well aware the entire Vulcan party is not on board. He was well able to cancel this plan."

Ssaalz came to Saavik's side to perform the scan. Her lidless eyes narrowed and her tail rattled at the tip.

"Is something wrong?" Saavik asked her.

The young Carreon looked up at the Security officer who was starting to wonder the same thing. She nodded that all was fine, before dropping her voice to a whisper. "Mother warned me about your internal scarring, but it's the first time I've seen it. I, I didn't expect it to be this bad." She needed to move on, but she hurriedly whispered, "Why?"

Her mother, Rrelthiz, knew about Saavik's nightmarish life on Hellguard. Ssaalz did not; she didn't even know the place had once existed. Saavik warmed her voice to soothe her namesake. "It was long ago, an incident from childhood. But I thank you for your concern."

Ssaalz gave a small nod and hurried to finish her scans.

Commander Imre called from his station. "Captain!"

"You discovered what you were looking for?"

"Yes, I did. Do you remember the matter the cargo bay crew started to bring to our attention earlier? As we left Vulcan."

She frowned. "You were able to link it with the saboteur?"

"I wish it was only that. But it starts there. I'll give you my explanation in a minute, but you need to see this immediately. It will be better on the main screen. Ambassador, it's for you too." He touched a control.

Saavik's back was to the main viewer, so as she started to turn, she saw Spock. That expression… She spun around hard, already hearing a younger McCoy calling to the _Enterprise_. He suddenly cursed as he held the body of a young boy that had spilled out from a large container. The child fell into McCoy's arms like he was boneless. Two men reached into the same crate and each pulled out a young girl. Identical twins.

 _Saavik_ and _Spock_ 's twin girls and their son, their bodies limp as if dead.

* * *

The character Ssaalz belongs to Marla from her story, "Muddied Treasures". I did modify that story a bit: in my universe, those events happen when Saavik and Spock are betrothed, but not yet married. I also had the Carreons mature faster than humans and Vulcans, so Ssaalz is an adult Starfleet officer by the time of this story. Thanks to AC Crispin for such great characters as Rrelthiz, her people, and her deep friendship with Saavik!

Bimojigar and the Sozons really are big, naked mole rats. All the details about them (including ones coming up later) are true with two exceptions: 1) I didn't think they had eyes; the ones I've seen never opened their eyelids, which look like rolls of skin to me, and I said that about their eyes in the "Negotiations" story. Since they don't really use vision, I kept Bimo's description the way it was. 2) I have seen naked mole rats sway as they sniff, but it's no more than anyone else. But I liked the idea of her head swaying like a concert pianist engulfed in the music.


	3. Chapter 3

Imre ran over to Comm-Science II, talking fast at the same time. "Bimo, take the flight recorder back point seven six. Repeat and augment. It's echoing like a cavern. What are they saying?"

She had it quickly.

"They're kids, Jim! We found them stuffed in a crate! They're unconscious like everyone else except they're drugged."

Imre let out a big breath. "I thought he said that. They're alive."

Yes, alive.

Saavik needed to remember that. Knowing her children were alive, she could breathe. Just once and not deeply; the grip on her chest wouldn't let her lungs move that far.

That _feeling_ had overwhelmed even her basic intelligence, let alone her logic. She would have felt her bond to the children snap if they were killed. The fact they lived had been right there in her own mind, a fundamental element to her own life, and instead, her first officer had to point out what she was ignoring.

 _Alive._

Knocked out, folded and shoved in a box like they were—

Her accelerated heartbeat felt like it repeatedly punched her stomach, but the calming breath lowered her heart to its regular rate.

Still, Saavik never held such tight rein on herself like this since – Spock's death. She wanted to _scream_ , wanted to _curse_ , wanted to call for whoever did this to be _brought to her_ so she could—

 _Control._

She needed to contain the violence, push down the panic and the _rage_ —

 _Control_.

She heard Spock step in a deliberate movement to Tactical. She allowed herself to step back once and then again, until they stood close together. They opened the bond that kept them _always touching_ even more, and it made her able to take another breath. Then she needed to look at him, her husband, her children's father, the only other person who understood the nightmare that had just landed on them.

The person who would be struggling as she was behind the forced calm they showed everyone else. The one who knew what his wife was capable of, so they could help each other not fall into that abyss.

 _You are no good to the children if you give into this._

Because if she let out the Romulan—

If she let out the Vulcan, the one behind the disciplines—

She could let out Hellguard.

It didn't matter the years – the decades – since it ceased to be a day to day struggle against Thieurrull's hold on her. One trigger and her own private Hell reached out and claimed her all over again. If that happened, she'd never get control of it again, not until it was too late.

Because the Hellguard in her soul _badly_ wanted the person who did this to her son and daughters.

Thieurrull…

No, she must not think of that, not now. She must be focused on what she needed to do _now_ and then fully realize the other layer of horror happening _out there_.

Spock's controls were stronger than Saavik's, and if the two of them were not so strongly bonded, she would think he didn't struggle like she did.

But he did. Deep under the surface, where no one around them could see, he made the same argument with himself. Without the disciplines-

The Vulcan could hold back the human.

The human could not contain the Vulcan, not the one stripped bare to ancient times who had just seen his children abducted, abused, and helpless.

Is that why their children were brought here? To hinder them and the _Enterprise_ from…. Coridan? What else could it be?

Imre helped. He didn't wait for orders or even a question. He brought up a cargo manifest and launched into his explanation. "Right after we left Vulcan, the crew in Cargo Bay 2 noted that while our total weight was correct, a few containers were less than they should be. Then all hell broke loose and we couldn't bother with it until your orders about finding the saboteur. I wondered if the weight issue had something to do with it, so I went through the flight recorder. I thought I would find machinery, not – Setik and the girls. I'm sorry, Captain."

Saavik looked away from Spock and she found:

Every one of her people, furious. It was as if everything she wanted to do and say channeled into each of them. Nachson used every curse he had learned from his childhood on the rough Frontier. Thalla's lighter blue darkened to indigo with rage and her antennae shot forward as if by their motion alone, she would reach out and get who did this. T'allendil turned to Vulcan ice, some of the humans pounded on something, others yelled, and Ssaalz came to Saavik's side, her tail thrashing. The Carreon didn't care now who discovered her connection to her captain.

A few of them, like Nachson, knew Setik, T'Kel, and T'Pren personally; more had at least seen them. All of them took this to heart.

Saavik turned in a slow circle and met each set of eyes. "You honor us."

Spock said to her as a reminder to both of them, "The children are safe on the _Enterprise_."

Doctor McCoy would, most likely, run tests on them since he had found them unconscious. He might find the genetic link to Spock, he might simply wonder about it when he found the Vulcan and human in the children. But:

"Dr. McCoy will not recognize the Romulan elements in them."

Spock nodded. "No one in the Federation has had the opportunity to learn them. However, that will not forestall any treatment they might need."

They left it unsaid that the opportunity came in the next year for the _Enterprise_ when he led the capture of Commander Charvanek for her cloaking device. Just as neither of them had mentioned earlier, when Saavik had brought up the Orion impersonating an Andorian, that Kirk had disguised himself as a Romulan as part of the ploy for the same device.

Imre spoke gently. "Captain? One more thing. We found another opened container, a bigger one. I ran through the flight recorder and found this." He sent it to the viewscreen.

Saavik could just make out someone climbing from the crate, but nothing clear about what he looked like. She didn't even know what species he was or even if he was actually male. "You have no footage where we can clearly see him?"

"No, Captain. He knew how to hide from the recorders. It looks like he even used the cargo layout as a maze to avoid them."

"These lapses in our routines are growing far too numerous. Security!"

"Tran here, Captain."

Saavik pictured the Australian's tanned skin, blonde hair, beard, and blue eyes. "Are you aware of the situation in Cargo Bay 2?"

His gravelly voice dropped under the weight of what he said, "Yes, ma'am. We made a hole and the bastard used it to get us and your kids. Sorry doesn't equal half of it, Captain."

"Lieutenant Commander." Saavik looked around her bridge to spread this message to all of them. "I should have immediately made myself clear. I do not call you for a reprimand. I point out a common flaw that is unfortunately throughout the _Contact_. The focus must be on what other 'holes' we have missed that the saboteur could already be using against us. It must end now."

"We've already started, Captain. Everyone who isn't with Dr. Stewart's teams is on this. We'll keep you informed." He signed off.

Everyone else on the bridge echoed his message and Engineering called up a moment later to agree.

T'allendil reported from Science I. "Scan of the ship confirmed we have no extra lifesigns on board. Breakdown by species also equals the correct count."

Saavik lowered herself into her captain's chair which kept Spock right above her. T'allendil had stood when she reported, and Saavik remembered that the other woman had a husband and children herself.

In fact, the _Contact_ could carry civilian families for any crewmember serving for more than six months. Saavik had thought about bringing Setik and the girls with her, even if it was only one or two such missions. She had always decided against it. She had worried they wouldn't be safe.

 _Where was everyone who was supposed to protect them at home?_

That intricate, shielding net Saavik kept around the family. Ruanek, T'Selis, the family – had they been hurt? Killed? How far did the horror go? Even the children's sehlat, Ko-Kan, would have attacked anyone after her charges, and she'd rather die than lose them.

From nowhere, Saavik had the sudden maternal thought that if the sehlat was killed, it would devastate the children. And if they lost anyone like Ruanek…

She deliberately straightened her back and laid her arms on the chairs as if she didn't want to grip them hard. "Then we have eliminated two possibilities. Dr. Ssaalz, you and the other teams must continue your scans. And we must eliminate two other prospects. I want it confirmed that each crewmember was accounted for when we shipped out from Vulcan. No one was missing who is suddenly back at their post. Second, check flight recorders for _Enterprise_ 's away teams. Confirm that no one left with them that did not come over with them."

"Aye, Captain," came the reply from different officers.

The first idea – that someone had been away from their post and now had returned – was illogical. Such a crewman would not need to hide themselves in a cargo container, but if Saavik did not eliminate it all, she left something unanswered that might have helped them.

And enemies were often illogical.

Saavik knew no one beamed over on an away team and then didn't go back. The _Enterprise_ would have noted it and be immediately contacting her. So she moved on.

"All other stations: continue your tests on how we were brought here and if the ship is free of any further sabotage."

Another chorus of officers confirming her orders sounded out.

"Mr. Imre. You did well."

He looked like he didn't think so, not when he had brought such bad news.

Saavik got up again and turned around to Spock at the tactical station, then motioned for T'allendil to come closer. "Spock, temporal theories exist that you and your younger self cannot occupy the same point in time. I would be concerned if you had not safely experienced such encounters already."

She abruptly stopped and then attacked the library computer access through her captain's chair. "We are changing course," she ordered as she found what she wanted. She sent the coordinates to the Conn stations.

Kamila Patrik called back, "Course laid in, Captain."

"Best speed."

Thalla Sh'shytral confirmed, "Best speed, aye."

Saavik looked again at Spock. His eyes brows lifted. "The Guardian? It is logical."

T'allendil naturally had to look up what they were talking about, so she went back to Science I. Saavik, however, kept talking. "I can return to Vulcan before this began and prevent it from happening. We will not be sent here and the children will – be where they are meant to be. I can even find this saboteur as he attempts to abduct them."

 _And then I will—_

She didn't allow the Romulan in her to finish that fierce thought.

"Captain!" Sh'shytral called. "We are turning about."

"We're going back to the _Enterprise_ ," Patrik echoed. One of her hands fisted like she wanted to pound her station. "We're locked out again!"

Saavik's strides ate the steps between the captain's chair and the forward stations. She reached over their shoulders to attempt wringing control back. Her officers were good, but every pair of eyes helped and she had more experience than they did. But even she couldn't break the hold over her ship. "Go to the battle bridge," she ordered her navigator and helmsman. "Mr. Imre, accompany them. Have Security meet you there and be armed. It is most likely that we are being controlled from there. Verify we are not and see if we have control of the ship from those stations."

The battle bridge was locked down until activated. In fact, Imre, Sh'shytral, and Patrik had to pass a Security check to enter the dedicated turbolift to the secondary control room.

When they had stood up, Nachson came running to take the helm next to Saavik at navigation. She called for Engineering, and then announced to them and the bridge, "We will attempt another course change. All stations are to monitor the ship's actions. If the saboteur's programming again alters our coordinates to return here, as I believe it will, some variation must register in our systems. Find it." She paused for her officers to begin monitoring. "Setting course for Vulcan."

"Aye, Captain," Nachson said as he set the helm.

It took only four seconds. The _Contact_ barely started on one course when the override happened, sending them in reverse.

"Stations, report," Saavik ordered as she went through the navigation, but they found the same as her: nothing. The ship had acted as if the second course was laid in as naturally as the first. Everyone except T'allendil sounded frustrated. They failed against someone who shouldn't know their jobs better than all of them.

Saavik ordered Imre and the others back since the battle bridge could no more stop it than the main.

The Vulcan science officer spoke, "The most likely theory is the saboteur is using the standard programming to house his own. We have multiple systems throughout the ship that monitor for commands."

Saavik had not included Spock in these discussions because her people were exceptional; they did not need an outsider telling them how to do their work. However, they had reached a point where it was foolish to ignore his great amount of experience. T'allendil, especially, would recognize the logic in taking advantage of all he knew.

So as soon as his wife asked for his input, he went to Science I. "I agree with the lieutenant. Perhaps these monitoring systems wait for orders as they normally would and call the routines that are required, such as helm and navigation. However, within that host are commands that activate the modified responses, sending what still appears to be a standard command."

Saavik nodded. "And in fact is. We change course from the _Enterprise_ and the hosting monitor program activates the helm and navigation to do a standard change to return." She thought it out further. "It is sophisticated beyond that level as well."

Spock agreed. "It continually observes the _Enterprise_ 's course so we may match it."

"Interesting," T'allendil noted. "Could the _Enterprise_ enact a course change? The saboteur has had no opportunity to affect their systems."

"Or," Spock said to her as they fleshed out the theory, "would we then change to match them again?"

Which left them with the same priorities, as Saavik thought while she said out loud, "I do not wish to tamper any further with their timeline. They are set for Babel. Let us be the ones who makes these attempts. We must, after all, return to our own time."

Imre returned with the other two having locked down the battle bridge. Saavik stood up. "We are once again, as Lieutenant Patrik aptly put it, 'going through it all circuit by circuit, line of code by line of code'. Mr. T'allendil, two teams are to go to the computer access room to directly check the primary and secondary cores. You may join them, if you wish, once we have secured your station here on the bridge. Choose the teams as you see fit."

With Kamila Patrik back at navigation, Saavik could move away to stand at Tactical. Spock came to her there. "Husband," she didn't care about the personal name on the bridge in this instance, "we need to contact the _Enterprise_. We must get the children, and safely discuss the situation that has both ships here."

Bimojigar's head swayed from them to her board and back. "They did it first, ma'am. We are being hailed."

Spock shared a look with Saavik. She nodded like he spoke out loud. To her, he had.

"Audio only," she ordered.

The voice that came over the bridge speakers made Spock lean over the station. Saavik stepped closer to him.

"This is Captain James T. Kirk of the USS _Enterprise_. You must know by now that we transported three people from your ship."

Saavik's eyebrows drew together. _He doesn't say they are children_. _Because? Because he is keeping it from being public knowledge amongst the crew._

She heard someone whisper, "Kirk," reverently.

"We obviously need to return them, but due to the way they were found, I want to make sure of their safety before they transport back. They have… mentioned Mr. Spock."

Heads swiveled to look at her husband who calmly appeared as if he heard about his abducted children from his long dead friend every day. Saavik lifted her eyebrows and those heads turned around back to their work.

"If you can find a way to prove that they are in no danger aboard your ship, I will release them." He took a beat. "I'm also well aware that we have a – situation without them that we need to resolve. If you are who you appear to be, we need to discuss that too. But I repeat – I will need proof that I can trust you before any of that can happen. If you are Starfleet… if you're _really_ Starfleet, you'll understand."

Saavik lowered her voice. "Bimojigar, tell them we need a moment and to hold. Spock."

He went with her to her – well, what used to be called the Captain's office and now what was being termed a ready room. As if Starfleet had nothing better to do than change the names of things. Away teams, battle bridges, ready rooms—

She banned the unworthy thought from her mind. She needed to focus; she needed to take the situation and have it hone the best of what she was capable of doing, so she could get her family and her crew home, and home safely.

Her office door shut.


	4. Chapter 4

At last they were alone, to simply be a husband and wife.

Saavik turned and Spock slipped his arms around her waist. She brought her fingers of one hand to weave with his in a squeeze that was both reassuring kiss and connection. Their foreheads laid gently together and it aligned them to flow in the way their bodies fit.

 _Seeing the children like that._

The thought was from both of them. Her hands slipped up to cup his face and thread in his hair with her thumbs lightly on his ears.

With each other to hold, they both stepped back from that internal abyss that pulled at them to lose control. She had Spock and he had her.

They had to move forward. Thought was faster than speech and holding each other was a comforting way to do that. And it was most likely their last private moment for a long time.

Saavik went first. "Captain Kirk is protecting the children, which surprises neither of us. If he did not already have my unending respect, he would have it now."

"He stated the children spoke of me."

"With the drugs and your younger self on board, I can imagine several possibilities on how it happened."

"Saavik, you agree that it is best if I do this?"

"Naturally. He will only trust so many, Spock. He knows no one else on board, and we have a limited number of ways to gain his confidence without you."

"Of course. It is also best if I go to them, once I have proved he may trust me. Not only for the children but to discuss the situation."

Saavik nodded against his forehead. "We can replicate an appropriate uniform for you. We will match it to the rank you hold with them now."

Out of all of it, she felt him frown at _this_. "I have resigned my commission. It is inappropriate for me to wear the uniform."

She actually pulled away in surprise and then told herself she should have known he would balk. She spoke out loud. "You served it well when you wore it, and we have both seen retired officers wear theirs."

He shook his head. "This is a different situation. I did not retire, I _resigned_ my commission."

"Spock!" She closed her eyes and regulated her breath. And remembered. She returned to thought. "My husband, it is not the uniform that bothers you. It is everything else."

He took a long breath. "It is the full implications of going there."

"I know."

Softly: "It will be a… gift to see my mother and Jim again, alive with so much ahead of them. And yet, I will be reminded of how that future contains their loss."

She moved closer. Not even a breath was between them now. "I know."

He nodded minutely, so it wasn't uncomfortable against where their heads pressed. "Of course. You are feeling the same."

"It is less than yours."

"I do not seek you believing your experience is less by comparison, Saavik."

"No, you would not. ...If I could do this for you, take the pain of it, I would."

"My wife, I know." Spock's one hand returned to hers to touch two fingers. Their duties had kept them apart for so long, and as soon as they had a stretch of time together, this happened to press down on them, limiting them again. He cupped her face and slid his own fingers into her hair.

Then they parted (and _never parted_ ). Saavik checked her time sense: six seconds had passed.

She motioned for Spock to sit down at her desk and called to her communications officer, "Mr. Bimojigar, route the channel with Captain Kirk to here."

"Yes, ma'am."

Starfleet officers were all addressed by Mister and sir, no matter their gender. Some women didn't like it and insisted on ma'am. Saavik didn't care -

(Kirk's voice reaching out from her past like a ghost, _"Mr. Saavik, you have the conn."_ )

\- but Bimojigar said she preferred the rhythms of saying ma'am instead of sir when addressing her captain and asked if that was all right. Even if Saavik had cared, it was a small thing to grant.

"Captain, the bridge asks if they can view the communication. The _Enterprise_ will not see us, only Ambassador Spock."

She and Spock exchanged a bright glance. "Of course. In fact, how closely can you focus the communication pickups on the bridge?"

"I can pinpoint wherever you want, ma'am."

 _Just what the captain ordered_ , Uhura had said. Correct, as always. "I expected no less, Lieutenant."

Saavik stopped to look at Spock and lifted her eyebrows in question. He nodded. He didn't need privacy as long as they gave nothing away about the ship.

"Cancel rerouting Captain Kirk to the ready room. We are returning to the bridge."

As they moved back out, Saavik said to him, "Spock, it is more difficult to conceal the stations behind you if you stand."

"Agreed."

"Tight focus on the captain's chair then. Mr. Sh'shytral, Mr. Patrik, move away in the event even a glimpse of you would be visible." She would not risk it, not with the different technology and the different uniforms. She took in Nachson at Tactical, a station that didn't exist on the _Enterprise_. "Mr. Bimojigar, no stations can show in the transmission."

Bimojigar stopped mid-sway and started again. "I understand, Captain. To confirm, I am sending a display of what Captain Kirk will see to the main viewscreen. I am ready when the ambassador is."

Saavik felt the quiver of excitement running through many on the bridge. T'allendil's expression had that layer of heightened Vulcan curiosity. The first Vulcan in Starfleet, the legend: Spock, son of Sarek, both in his early years and here in front of her.

Saavik replied to Bimojigar, "Excellent. And let us be fair. Make this available ship-wide for anyone who wishes to view it. And Lieutenant, it is Mr. Spock in any communication with the _Enterprise_ , and you are to pass on the order for replicating one of their uniforms: science division and commander's stripes."

"Aye, Captain."

Spock had shed his outer, ambassadorial robes, leaving him in a plain, white tunic. He took Saavik's command chair and looked over to her. She stepped back to the secondary stations near her ready room. Imre was next to her and others scurried to move too. No one doubted Bimo, her display of Spock's transmission proved she got it right, but everyone radiated the idea of _reveal nothing_.

"Open channel," Saavik ordered.

"Opening channel, Captain."

The main screen cleared to be replaced with:

James T. Kirk, at only thirty-four years old, in the wrap-around, green Captain's tunic and surrounded by his equally renowned command crew. Saavik heard both the intake of breaths on his bridge and hers.

Kirk mingled both a smile and surprise. "Spock. We weren't a hundred percent sure you were there, but we hoped. It is you, isn't it?"

She watched her husband's dark eyes light with, as he so aptly put it, this gift. "Yes, it is. I am pleased to see you as well, Captain. I also see Dr. McCoy has allowed you on the bridge without completing the two days."

Kirk grinned. "He gave away my bed."

That must mean one of the children; McCoy would never "give away" a patient's bed unless an emergency happened. If that was true, all three of the children were in Sickbay –

-and Kirk would let out at least a hint if they weren't all right. But he hadn't and Saavik's maternal instincts settled down. "Spock – you understand, I can't just assume it's you."

"Neither can I assume the opposite. We have both seen those who were quite adept in allusion and duplication of someone else."

Saavik could catalog those herself, such as poor Leonard McCoy meeting whom he thought was a woman he cared for, but was revealed as an alien that drained the salt from victims' bodies.

Spock was saying, "Which is why I say, Captain, rook to king's pawn four."

"Interesting idea, confirming someone identification with chess moves. Bishop, half level right."

She frowned at Spock. Kirk clearly hadn't used this method before. But then Saavik let it go; even if they didn't manage to reset time, it was a small thing. Kirk certainly _would_ use this tactic later.

Her husband had lifted an eyebrow, which got smiles from around the whole _Enterprise_ bridge. And then—

His younger self stepped into view. Saavik wondered where he had been standing that he wasn't in sight before, but that was with the back part of her mind. She hadn't known him at this age, although it wouldn't be much longer in his timeline that she would. She once had seen an image of him like this during a meld, but it was different to see him actually standing there. He looked:

Not at peace. Not like her husband was now and had been for decades. She darted a glance at him, but he only gave his younger self a nod.

Saavik knew for a fact Amanda could not be on the bridge, not even out of view like her young son had been. Her… Saavik abruptly realized what she was about to think casually. _My mother-in-law_. Except on Vulcan, she would never be called that. No, Saavik would have called her:

 _Mother_.

And if Amanda was on the _Enterprise_ 's bridge, she would have made some noise and Saavik would never have missed it.

Her husband had said, "You may wish to rethink that move, Captain."

Kirk looked up at that younger Spock. "You've gotten better."

Which was, of course, a joke since they had only played three moves, not a whole game.

Her Spock answered as if the comment was aimed at him. In a way, it was. "Thank you, Captain. If I can provide any other identification?"

"I believe it's you. I hope you think the same."

Spock nodded.

"But I'm going to have McCoy do a DNA check on you. You understand."

The younger Spock spoke simultaneously with Saavik's. "I do."

An eyebrow was lifted again and then lowered. "Under those conditions then, I ask permission to come aboard. I believe you have something of mine."

* * *

Note: the chess moves are from _Court Martial_ and are used at the end of a game. I don't play 3D chess and I couldn't find anyone on the Web who labeled moves the way they do on the show. So I apologize if they make no sense here. I simply had to use what I could find.


	5. Chapter 5

USS _Enterprise_ NCC-1701, Sickbay

 _An hour earlier_

Kirk needed to lean against the empty medical bed where Spock had been put after Sarek's surgery. He hated feeling weak, but if he stayed on his feet, he pulled at the wound in his back. He wasn't going to give McCoy a reason to put him on one of the beds in the Exam room next door.

Even more importantly, a captain unsteady on his feet wasn't good for Spock's children after the trauma they had already suffered. They needed to feel as safe as possible. It was one of the reasons he and Spock changed back into uniform.

The boy stood in between McCoy and Amanda and had a quiet look. Kirk couldn't believe it, even in a Vulcan child. He also looked so much like Spock, it was startling, including standing with his hands folded behind his back. By sheer coincidence, he wore a blue shirt, a lighter shade than Spock's uniform, with a gray emblem and similarly gray pants. Everything about him was his father, except for his blue eyes which Kirk bet he got from Amanda.

"What's your name, son?" he asked, calm and friendly.

The boy's eyes went from Kirk, to the younger version of his father, to his grandmother, and then to McCoy where they surprisingly lingered. At last, he looked at his sisters. Something in his expression made Kirk think the twins were doing something over to the right of him, and made the mistake of twisting around to see. He only got a shooting pain for it, because the girls were simply looking back at their brother.

Spock noticed his confusion. "They are speaking telepathically, Captain."

"You can hear them?"

The Vulcan frowned and from the corner of his eye, Kirk saw Amanda and the boy did too. "That would be a violation of their privacy. I would also have to force a contact of my own on them, and that is a crime in any telepathic society."

Kirk held up his hands. "Sorry, I didn't realize. Maybe if you ask them?"

The girl with the shorter hair, and in a white tunic and shorts, scowled. "We can hear you."

He felt his mouth twitch at one corner. "Of course you can." He looked between the girls and noted out loud, "Identical twins."

Her scowl didn't lessen. "Clearly."

Spock immediately chastised her. "Is this what Vulcan children are taught in the future? To be rude to the people who have made them their guests?"

The girl pushed back with, "Father, we _are_ clearly identical twins."

His frown grew. "I am not your father."

"Genetically you are."

Spock looked like he found himself losing a debate and that was unacceptable. Diplomatically, the other girl spoke. She wore a simple, casual dress in soft red. "Her logic _is_ sound... sir."

McCoy piped up. "That's one for the kids."

"Bones," Kirk cut in, hard pressed not to grin himself. He didn't think it'd help if he did.

The boy suddenly spoke. "What should we call you, sir?" he asked the Vulcan.

"Mr. Spock will suffice."

McCoy growled in exasperation, "Oh for god's sakes."

"Bones!" Kirk shot out again. He did not need the two of them going off in one of their battles, not now. He was stunned when the girl with the longer hair caught on to what he was doing. He noted idly that her hair parted on the opposite side of her sister's; her bangs were straight and short across for the most part, unlike the other twin whose were longer and swept to the side.

"It is fine, sir," she told him. "We are quite used to them. You understand."

Kirk couldn't stop the grin anymore. "I'm sure you are."

So the children had close contact with both he and McCoy. He expected it, but it was nice to hear. And the girl: he should have known Spock's daughter would be able to talk like that.

"Sir?" the boy asked. Kirk looked at him and realized the child meant him, not Spock. "May we ask questions?"

He turned the grin into an encouraging smile. "Of course you can."

He waited for them to ask any one of the questions that had to be plaguing them: what had happened? What was going on? How did they get here?

But the girl with longer hair surprised him with, "Is Grandfather all right?"

He should have anticipated that. He glanced over slightly to his left where Sarek still lay with Amanda between him and her grandson.

"It's nothing," Kirk said, making it sound as if Sarek was taking a nap. "He's just resting."

Of all people, Amanda stepped in, and he remembered that despite how exasperated she had gotten with Sarek and Spock not long ago, she had spoken proudly of Vulcan's ways to Kirk. And she had raised a Vulcan child herself. "Captain, you don't need to shield them. They're raised learning things can be difficult. It prepares them for adulthood, which is naturally the job of any parent," she stopped to smile at him with a twinkle, "including Vulcan ones. And, after all, Sarek really is fine."

She knelt next to the boy and gestured for the girls to join her. They ended up surrounding her and Amanda plainly enjoyed every bit of it. "Sarek needed heart surgery. It went well. He is recovering from the weakness he has from the surgery."

Both girls stared at their brother at that announcement; he frowned before looking up at the diagnostic panel with Sarek's vital signs and nodded. The girls relaxed.

 _He knows the right vitals_. At least the basics, apparently. Was that normal for a Vulcan child, like a general information curriculum? The girls didn't seem to know. Kirk thought of asking Spock, but it wasn't necessary right now.

Her grandson's serenity took a dip. "We have heard of Grandfather's heart surgery. I should have recognized it."

"The cause is sufficient," Amanda kept on. "Now, can we know your names?"

The children looked like they talked telepathically again before the boy stepped forward and gestured for his sisters to be behind him. They used Kirk's old hospital bed to be a barricade at their backs, and the captain sadly realized the children not only looked at avenues of escape, but the brother was prepared to throw himself at the adults to give his sisters a chance to get out the door.

Amanda held back the tears that wanted to fill her eyes, but she blinked them away and kept the same, bright look in case the children turned back to her.

 _Or pick up on it by sensing her?_ If that was true, Kirk had better do the same and let out nothing that could make them think they weren't safe.

"Captain, may I tell you my thoughts?" the boy asked Kirk, who nodded. "We need to know this is not a simulation or something else false."

The girl with longer hair hurriedly added, "We have heard of such things. You understand?" She glanced at Spock. "We do not mean to be rude, but we need to be sure."

Amanda didn't smile brightly; she radiated it, like a lighthouse into the darkness surrounding the children. "We obviously have another diplomat in the family, with Sarek's gift for speech on top of it."

Kirk had to agree. Twice now the girl jumped in when her brother and sister might be considered wrong in how they said something. She had defended Spock and McCoy too when their captain warned them about their quarreling.

The girl's black eyes gleamed over what her grandmother had said. "Yes, I do. However, Father and Grandfather say I have inherited your personality. Mother says that means I can get them to do anything I want."

Kirk chuckled and Amanda looked like she wanted to hug the girl whose forehead screwed up in thought.

"I think Mother is wrong. I cannot get them to do _anything_ I want. Merely some things."

Her brother shot her a commanding look and she subsided, although reluctantly. Amanda appeared to measure that reaction and then spoke to him. "How old are you?" she asked.

He replied, "Seven, in Federation Standard years."

"And have you made your _kahs-wan_?"

"Yes."

The girl with short hair jumped in. "With the highest review since Solkar." She got a look from her brother too which she verbally shrugged over. "It is not bragging, Tenu't. It is the truth."

Kirk asked politely, "Tenu't?" Amanda explained it was the Vulcan word for blue. He took note of the child's blue eyes again and made a mental reminder to find out who Solkar was and what was a _kahs-wan_. "So it's your nickname?" he asked the boy.

The same girl heavily stressed the first word in her reply. " _I_ call him it. Only me. Mother and Father agreed."

Kirk bit his lip. Laughing would be the very wrong response in the face of that fierceness. "Self-expression doesn't seem to be one of your problems."

She raised an eyebrow and McCoy choked.

Her twin added, "Vulcan children do not have nicknames. Tenu't is an exception."

Amanda still knelt. She gestured to her grandchildren and glowed with a conspiracy that she'd share with them. Three young Vulcans made a more apparent, silent discussion between themselves; they turned to face her, but nothing else. They couldn't be sure it wasn't a trick.

Amanda acted like this was exactly what she wanted. She whispered loud enough for everyone to hear, "Do you know your father had a nickname when he was very young?"

The boy's eyes grew wide and the girls exchanged glances of, ' _This can't be true!_ '

"Father did?" their brother asked her, plainly wondering if they could be talking about the same person.

Spock actually seemed to beg, "Mother-"

Amanda ignored him. She nodded solemnly at her grandchildren. "I called him _Taluhk_."

McCoy stared at Spock. "Going by your face, this has to be good. What does _taluhk_ mean?"

The girl with longer hair stared at this version of her father like he was this suddenly unknown creature – who had _lied_ about nicknames. "It means precious," she translated half-consciously.

Spock immediately headed off McCoy, his eyes squeezed shut. "Doctor, if you please."

Amanda held up a finger signaling 'wait'. That spared Kirk from having to step in. Again. That was a good thing, because he was desperately trying not to bust out laughing.

"So you see," she said to the kids, "nicknames are more common than you might think. At least in our family, since we're so unique."

The doctor gave them a smile, but spoke to oldest child. "That makes sense, doesn't it, son?"

The youth looked over at him. "Boy."

"What?"

"If you are who you appear to be, you do not call me 'son'. You call me 'boy' or 'the boy' when you speak of me to others."

McCoy lifted an eyebrow. "And your parents are okay with that?"

"Yes. But do not call T'Kel 'Hellcat'. Mother does not approve."

The other eyebrow joined the first. "I'll remember that. Don't know why I would call your sister it, but let's not make Mom upset." McCoy turned to Spock. "Just so you know, I like the kids better than you."

Amanda stood at last and took a small step forward. The three children didn't move away, but they didn't move closer either, and when she tried a second step, the boy pushed his sisters more sharply behind him. She stopped.

She folded her hands in front of her and her voice became every bit the Vulcan grandmother. At least, Kirk thought so. "You are doing very well," she told her grandson. "I can see why you earned such a high review in your test. This is a very serious situation and you must be responsible for your sisters too."

He thought about it and then gravely nodded.

She looked him over and spoke like they were merely discussing every day family matters, "You have a different build than your father. Is it – I have seen holos of Sarek at this age. You favor him, don't you?"

"…Yes. My parents believe I will have Grandfather's stature. Otherwise, I look like my father," his eyes went to Spock, but turned away quickly, "with the other exception of having your eye color."

Amanda looked at Kirk and motioned for him to take charge again. She had defused the situation with distraction and connection as much as possible. "All right, son, what can we do to show we're who we are?"

McCoy offered, "Do you want to see the DNA tests on you and Spock?"

The child considered this and then shook his head. "If this is a simulation or our minds being affected, the test results will be made to appear as correct, while they actually are false."

The doctor walked up a step, but didn't come up to Amanda's side, or any further, giving the children a comforting distance. "Boy–that word does feel right, doesn't it?" he asked seriously. He made it sound like a title. "Boy, that was very good reasoning. If we were trying to fool you, the test results would be faked. So like Captain Kirk said, what can we do to show you that you're safe here?"

The boy's eyes darted until his sisters stared at the back of his head.

 _How they use that telepathy is amazing._

"The familial bond," their brother answered.

Out of habit, Kirk looked over to Spock for an answer rather than Amanda. She enjoyed herself immensely, even with the children's reluctance, and she would be completely positive whereas Spock had turned inflexible over the kids from the second when this all started.

But the Vulcan was his best friend, first officer, and advisor. Naturally Kirk looked to him.

"Vulcan families have a mental bond between them, Captain. The children have one between each other, and of course with their grandparents and parents. It allows them to know if there is a problem with a member of the family or simply to sense each other."

"Can they sense you or Amanda?"

Kirk didn't see the children when they exchanged glances over their grandmother as someone in the family bond. No one did; everyone's eyes were on Spock, who lifted an eyebrow after a pause to think.

"It is a possibility. Even if we discover it is not true, they would get a sense of Amanda or me which could not be falsified."

Or at least not easily. _And that sort of mental tampering would be sensed by Spock's son._

Kirk shook his head internally over that: _Spock's son_.

Amanda spoke in the same tranquil, guiding voice to the three children as she did earlier. "What about just a mind touch?" she suggested. "You wouldn't have to be concerned that someone would attempt something within a meld."

Her grandson thought again and turned to Spock. "Sir, will you come here? I _am_ responsible for my sisters. I do not want them standing here on their own, or create a space that can be used to divide us."

Kirk wondered if the boy had a hidden agenda to make Spock recognize him as his son. Or maybe it was simply the reassurance from the man who would be his father. Why else wouldn't the child choose Amanda? She was closer and more than willing.

All the boy did was hold out his hand and Spock's hovered in the air–

 _Because he'll have to face the fact in his own mind that he's looking at the children he'll have someday?_

-and their fingertips touched. The boy appeared to be holding his breath which he let out now. He looked over his shoulder and gave a single nod: that mental touch was Spock.

And that was that. The kids spread out more and even with their Vulcan calm –

 _I don't know if I'd call the girl with the short hair calm. Calmly intense, maybe, if those words can even go together. She's definitely different than Spock._

\- they appeared relieved. They were safe and the adults could take over now.

The boy moved in front of Kirk, still serene. "We appreciate your understanding, sir. I am Setik, son of Spock, son of Sarek."

Amanda beamed. "I could hear that a million times and never be tired of it. And you, dear?" she asked the girl with the shorter hair.

"I am T'Kel, daughter of..." her eyebrows snapped together, "Vulcan."

Amanda smiled, obviously already in love with her grandchildren. Kirk could see why. "That is a charming way to describe it."

The children looked at each other again. No one on the _Enterprise_ could know, but it was how their mother's lineage was said.

Kirk smiled at her too. "You did a good job of not giving away your mother."

The inevitable eyebrow went up. "I know." He had a feeling her twin prodded her telepathically, because she tacked on, "Sir."

Spock opened his mouth and Kirk thought the girl was in for another lecture, but that wasn't it. "Your name is T'Kel?"

She measured him with a look, wondering if she should point out that obviously it was, but her sister's eyes shot to her. "Yes," she answered instead.

"Spock?" Kirk asked in shorthand.

"She is named after someone in our family, Captain. The part about being a daughter of Vulcan, however, is not a phrase I have heard previously," he mused aloud.

The other twin answered – hurriedly, Kirk thought. "We have heard the description for someone else. I am T'Pren, daughter of Vulcan. You asked for Setik's age, so I will give you ours too. My sister and I are five. I am twelve minutes younger than T'Kel."

Kirk asked his next question out of politeness. They had the kids talking and he wanted that to go on. Asking about themselves appeared to be working. "Are you named after someone?"

She ducked her head to stare at the floor. She at last looked up from the tops of her eyes.

"I know that look," Amanda murmured.

"Mother," Spock answered, "you _make_ that look."

"Which is why I know it."

T'Pren watched this back and forth before returning to Kirk. She nodded with great, proud emphasis. "I am named for-" She looked like she suddenly remembered she would be giving away something. "—for a heroine of Vulcan."

It was almost a relief to have the kids' names. Now Kirk didn't have to think 'the girl in red' or 'the girl with short hair' or 'the boy'. That seemed reserved for McCoy anyway.

Spock lifted an eyebrow. "Interesting. I do not know of a heroine named T'Pren."

"You will, sir." She saw her twin about to say something and gave her another silent nudge. Kirk imagined they had just been spared another, " _Clearly_."

He couldn't resist. "You are very… logical, T'Kel."

Spock stressed, "Ruthlessly so."

Kirk began to think the only reason his back hurt was from his ribs aching with held in laughter. He didn't know which was better: the children or Spock's reactions to them. Probably both. In fact, he admitted he was stretching this out because he enjoyed it so much. He justified it by noting it had eased the tension in the room.

 _Keep them calm and talking._

"We mean that as a compliment," he told the girl.

Her opal eyes were going around Sickbay. She answered him idly. "I took it as one. Why wouldn't I?"

"Seriously, Jim," McCoy interrupted, "don't you like them better?"

Kirk left that alone, of course, and at last turned to the important things that needed asking. He looked at Setik who had moved next to Sarek. The boy again looked like he read his grandfather's vitals. His head swung to McCoy like he wanted to ask.

 _I promise_ , Kirk said silently, _as soon as we're done finding out what happened to you_ , _you can have Bones_ _show you the entire Sickbay_.

"Setik, right?" The kid nodded. "Setik, what can you tell us about how you ended up unconscious on that ship?"

Three small Vulcans practically pounced on him with a near simultaneous, "Ship?"

But Setik never really lost his calm. "What ship, sir?"

Kirk took a beat, but it couldn't hurt to tell them, and seeing their reaction could help his own decisions about what to do about taking them back. He pictured looking at the other ship again. "The USS _Contact_. Do you know it?"

He expected Setik to answer him, but T'Kel essentially and immediately interrogated him. "Yes. But you didn't talk to them or you would know that." She mulled it over. "How did you know – _Mr. Spock_ is our father? Did someone kidnap him too? Is he here or on the _Contact_? Why don't you know who Mother is if you know Father? Never mind, it is obvious. There is no sign of Mother."

Three sets of eyebrows snapped together at the thought: _Mother is nowhere around_.

T'Pren nearly pleaded, "But the _Contact_. How could it be here without-?"

Kirk almost asked if their mom was in Starfleet like their father and assigned to the other ship, but of course they couldn't answer that.

Setik's calm showed a chink in the armor over this talk about his mother. Poor kid, he still had a lot dumped on him. Time for Kirk to take the whole thing on his own.

"Setik?"

"Yes, sir, I know. We didn't answer your question."

Amanda came up to his side. Her right arm dropped behind his back as she focused on him, giving him the strength and direction his parents weren't there to give. But she didn't coddle him by saying _don't worry about it, I'll take care of it_. She didn't, Kirk realized, treat him like a _little_ boy, but as her seven-year-old grandson.

The grandson who was a big brother with two little sisters to watch over. Kirk suddenly remembered the times _his_ big brother,George, would be put in charge. Except he didn't call his brother by his first name; he called him by the short version of his middle name: Sam. So he and T'Kel were alike in that way.

He smiled inwardly at the memories of Sam putting himself between the world and his little brother. And the other memories of Sam taking advantage of the situation and turning dictator with 'Jimmy' as the downtrodden subject.

T'Pren came over and verbally tugged at Amanda. "Grandmother? May I sit up there next to Grandfather?"

"Of course, dear!"

McCoy stepped over. "Let me do the honors, Miss." He swung her up.

She nestled near Sarek, careful not to disturb him. Kirk added another thing to his list of questions to ask later: could Sarek sense her? Or was it possible for T'Pren to be dragged down with her grandfather unable to block his telepathic abilities while this deep asleep?

The second one was an easy 'no'. If that could happen, Amanda and Spock would move her away. Maybe that was why the girl didn't scoot all the way back, but left a space: so she wouldn't be drawn in.

As she let out something akin to a sigh, the captain smiled at her. Settled next to her big, powerful grandfather: Sarek naturally would provide a sense of security, even while sleeping.

Kirk looked out the corners of his eyes at Spock: had he felt that way once about his father?

 _Like I said, questions for later._

Hold on. _Where's T'Kel_? He started shooting glances everywhere when he heard Spock. A patience-being-tried Spock. "She is here, Captain."

Sure enough, the oldest twin was almost glued to his side. It made sense that she wanted her own sense of security and sought out the only version of her father she had. But, Kirk could see something working behind her black eyes.

"Captain?" Setik snapped Kirk out of his reverie. "We cannot help you in any great deal. We know nothing about how we were brought here or who did it."

T'Pren explained, "We were contacted in our classes to arrive at the _t'kahr_ 's office – that is like a headmaster. The office was empty except for this man. We have security phrases, sir, so someone we do not know can prove they are safe to talk with or go with. He knew these phrases."

"The office is the last thing I remember," Setik finished, "until I woke up here. Sir? Did one of us make a mistake and call – Mr. Spock our father?"

Kirk had been ready to lie, but he remembered what Amanda had said. "You were unconscious. You thought you were safe at home and you saw your father. No one's blaming any of you, Setik."

He watched that sink in with all three of the kids, before he asked his next question. "Can you describe this man?"

T'Kel fired off the details. "Human or at least humanoid. Dark hair and eyes, but a brown, not black like mine. Hair was short, in your style. Very white skin, lighter than you. Approximately one point eight meters tall, and," she stared up with a scowl, " _Mr. Spock_ 's build."

Spock looked down with an equal frown. "The reason for this insubordinate attitude?"

She didn't back down one bit. "You made Setik look away. And you can't admit your Father."

 _Made him look away?_ The lightbulb went off: Setik had watched Spock when he explained, "I look like my father." Faced with someone who didn't want that reminder, the boy looked away.

So T'Kel's big brother was her hero. Kirk completely understood; Sam had been his. Although he was sure that if it had been T'Pren in the scenario, her twin would be equally protective.

 _The word ferocious comes to mind._

Setik beat Spock to the punch. "T'Kel!"

She didn't look away from this younger version of her father. "It is the truth."

"It is." If her brother didn't like that she pointed out he had been upset, and if he was still upset by Spock's… denial, he kept it under control. "It is also true that you were rude in how you told it."

She wanted to argue more; it radiated from her into the air like a surrounding pocket. But Setik was her hero, he was older, and in charge for the moment. So she closed her eyes and visibly made herself calmer. Then she said to Spock, "I ask pardon."

He was gracious in this at least. "Accepted."

 _Come on, Spock! Give the kids – something! You can make the difference in all of this for them._

But he only returned to watching his captain for what came next. T'Kel's footsteps made a slight noise from not picking up her feet all the way as she crossed to T'Pren. She leaned against her twin's legs and she tapped a fist against her thigh.

McCoy shot Spock a look with the blast of Vulcan's Forge. He shoved it down as noticeably as T'Kel, so he could talk to her with a feigned casual, "You want me to put you up there next to your sister?"

The girl didn't answer at all and that worried Kirk. Her twin spoke for her. "No, Doctor. We are fine like this. And T'Kel would climb up to me if that was what she wanted."

Because the twins wanted physical closeness and not just their mental tie, and they had it. They were just girls; dare he say it, little girls and they were going through hell with not much to brighten it. It had been one long, very bad day.

Amanda swallowed, but she said nothing, maybe so Setik didn't get bombarded by what she thought and felt. She settled for a small worried look at her granddaughters, and then, surprisingly, at her son. Not anger, but worry, and sympathy.

Kirk rubbed hard at his knee as an outlet before saying something to Spock himself that would make things worse. "All right, you gave me the details on what this man looked like, so you obviously would recognize him. Spock, run the description through the crew's records. It doesn't make sense that he's on board - he wouldn't be able to bring the _Contact_ to our time if he was here – but let's be sure. When we talk with them, we'll give them the children's description so they can check on their side."

All three kids perked up. "You will speak with the captain of the _Contact_?" asked Setik.

Kirk smiled at him reassuringly. "We will."

"I'm sure," Amanda said, "that they're about to call us to make sure you're all right."

 _Were they_? Kirk wondered. Because why hadn't they done it by now? The children had been brought over a little bit ago. If the crew hadn't taken Setik and the girls – and the way the kids talked, it looked unlikely that someone in the crew had - why weren't they trying to find them?

The only reason Kirk could think of: if the _Contact_ wasn't behind the kidnapping, they might not know the children were ever on board. That could be true. Setik said they didn't know the man who captured them, so he could be someone from outside the ship's personnel.

But the man could still be a crewmember and just not one they knew. Still, hearing how the twins and their brother talked made Kirk weigh the possibility that no one on the other ship was responsible. He'd keep it in mind when he hailed them, but he'd similarly keep in mind they might be accountable after all.

Still, it was enough of an option that Kirk agreed with Amanda and then hinted around the idea about the Contact. "She's right. So you're familiar with their crew? You feel safe in going back there?"

"Yes, sir," Setik answered immediately, and then hurriedly, "We know we are safe here too."

"Yes, you are," Kirk agreed. He freely admitted to himself that he was eating this whole thing up as much as McCoy and Amanda. Now if he could just take that deflated stance away from T'Kel. "Is there any chance your father is aboard the _Contact_?" The same mental discussion with T'Pren then giving the verdict that he could be. "That makes me feel better. I'm going to talk with the other captain about a number of things, but rest assured, you're my top priority when I hail them. I'm not going to just hand you over either. I'll make sure I trust them before anything else. And I'll take _Mister_ Spock with me."

He winked at the kids and saw Spock do the "disgruntled Vulcan" shift in his body language.

McCoy moved around so he was facing the children instead of being next to them. "I'm going to stay here with your grandmother while Captain Kirk talks to the other ship. Is that all right?"

Setik nodded prominently, T'Pren and T'Kel gave small ones. Their gazes switched to Amanda; she stepped around Setik so her grandchildren were on both sides.

"I know this is a very difficult time, but I am so glad that at least I get to know you right now." They agreed and T'Kel stood up, her side still against her twin's legs, but no longer needing to droop against her. "While they're on the bridge, we'll discuss about what we can and can't talk about. That way, we won't change our futures or your pasts, because I don't want to do anything that changes my perfectly beautiful grandchildren."

 _That put the energy back in them_. Hell, it did the same thing for him too; even his back felt better.

"Captain," T'Pren asked, "can we go with you to speak with the captain of the Contact? And our father?"

 _So they do think Spock is on board_. _Maybe they can even sense him with that family bond?_ Would it go that far? Because Spock would be the absolute person he would trust: for the children, for resolving the situation with the time travel, and finding out who was behind it.

He tried to imagine this future version of Spock and, he could tell, so did his first officer. What is that like? Seeing your future? But at least a hell of a great one?

"Let me talk to them first," Kirk promised. "The crew doesn't know you're on board until I'm sure everything's all right. Then we'll see about you talking to them."

He actually had no plan to tell the crew that the children were here. If he kept things contained, he could better control them. So despite what Amanda had said to him, he did shield the kids from that answer.

"Setik." He slid off the bed and walked over to the boy. He knelt on one knee and gestured for the child to come closer. That dark head tilted to the side, and his eyes suddenly reflected a spark of light. Kirk blinked; he guessed that had to be an effect of a Vulcan's inner eyelids, but he never saw Spock do that.

Then he just about literally blinked again when Setik stood right in front of him and bent one knee to kneel like Kirk.

Spock gave a sudden, "What are you doing?"

The boy looked solemnly at the man in front of him. "I know someone who says some human men do this when they discuss something in a way that is unique to our gender. He says it is also a sign of respect between the people talking. He calls them our 'male to male' talks. He has always done this, even before I passed my _kahs-wan_."

 _I hope I'm the one that teaches it to him. But if I'm not, my hat's off to the man who did._

He heard McCoy talk over his head to Spock. "I'm up to liking him a hundred times better. Just keeping you up to date."

Kirk originally intended to put his hands on the boy's shoulders, but now he leaned his arm on his knee with his other hand resting there too. Setik copied him.

"Setik, you're here now. I'm here, your grandmother's here, Doctor McCoy is, and your grandfather will be awake soon. Everybody on the _Enterprise_ is here, plus everyone on the _Contact_. So I'm officially releasing you from being in charge. That's my job now. All right?"

He got a nice, bright look and emphatic nod in reply.

"Good. Come on, Mr. Spock. We have people to talk to."

He stood up and got a sudden hypospray in the shoulder. McCoy murmured, "I know you're hurting, Jim. This will help, but don't push it too far."

Kirk walked out of the ward to the examination room, so he and Spock could leave through that door. He heard Setik ask, "Doctor, will you show me my grandfather is all right?"

He slowed down to hear.

"Love to! Come around here. OK, this is his vitals. Wait, let me grab a Feinberger."

"Setik," Amanda's voice sparkled, "what other 'male to male' talks have you had?"

"Our first one was on whether I should share my sehlat or should my sisters get their own. That was when I was two and they had been born."

T'Pren piped in brilliantly, "He does share Ko-Kan with us, Grandmother."

Kirk said nothing to Spock on the subject that he obviously wish to avoid. In fact, they didn't talk at all until they got into the turbolift.

"Spock, all I'm going to say is – wait, hear me out – is that those kids are either going to unite and bring the Federation to a golden age. Or T'Kel will turn evil dictator and, with her brother and sister, bring us to our knees. Either way, I'm getting in good with them now."

* * *

Spock's pet name, _Taluhk_ , was created by mzsnaz; she also let me use it in _Momisms._


	6. Chapter 6

USS _Enterprise_ NCC-1701, Bridge

The face on the main viewscreen lifted an eyebrow again and then lowered. "Under those conditions then, I ask permission to come aboard. I believe you have something of mine."

The communication had ended shortly afterwards. The Spock on the screen shifted his eyes to his younger self, and for a second, stayed there.

Those eyes hadn't changed physically. The Spock standing here on the _Enterprise_ bridge saw them every day in his mirror. His older self's had a few lines along with those on his face, but only a few, with the hair still dark and the body still lean as well.

No, those eyes weren't different. Physically.

The nonphysical: peace. Serenity. Balance. McCoy once used a phrase, 'comfortable in your own skin'. That older Spock was comfortable in his own skin. Together with the children, a wife that had at least a strong relationship with the twins and Setik, and now this new tally mark that scored against who Spock was now.

In one second, he had to reassess everything about himself at the hands of his own, older self.

The channel closed there.

"Mr. Spock," Chekov interrupted the quiet, "do you think that's really you?"

"It is the initial theory," he answered in his usual composed manner. He had accomplished this at least, he reminded himself. "We will make certain of it when he comes on board."

Kirk looked up at him. "Captain Spock asked for a moment before he beams over."

 _Ah, yes. My counterpart was in his own captain's chair_. That hadn't made as much an impact as seeing—what Spock never thought to accomplish. It would be Jim's first priority, however.

Kirk mulled over the other Spock's request for a minute before he began asking for reports. "Mr. Spock, you ran that check?"

"Yes, Captain. I completed the search on the physical description given by the people we rescued. Seventy-seven crewmembers met the criteria, all have been accounted for as being on the _Enterprise_ and fulfilling their duties. That is both for today and since joining the crew. I also confirmed a total personnel number. This person is not one of us."

"That confirms what we thought. Mr. Sulu, has the other ship tried leaving again?"

The helmsman spun around rather than answer over his shoulder. "No, sir, only the two times. They're back below us again, matching our course and speed. We still don't know why Captain Spock went to leave just to immediately come back. If it's because the three people are here, then why go at all?"

The captain looked back to the viewscreen. "Hopefully, if that is Spock over there, he can give us answers. At least the ones that are safe for us to know. Uhura, coordinate with them for Sulu and Chekov to drop out of warp when Captain Spock is ready to beam over."

 _Interesting_ , this Spock noted, _how each person emphasizes the captain title_.

"Aye, Captain. Sir, the delegates were complaining about the delay, but they've stopped. I don't know why."

He smiled at her. "Let's not look a gift horse in the mouth. Anything else?"

Chekov turned in his seat. "I coordinated vith the transporter chiefs and Mr. Scot. Ve confirmed vith Mr. Spock's scans: all members of the landing party returned vith no additional personnel."

"Good. That eliminates that at least."

Spock asked the navigator, "Have you confirmed no other transporter activity has happened?"

"Yes, Mr. Spock-"

Now they emphasize the mister.

"- all transporter stations report negative on other people coming on board."

Exactly as they had thought. It did leave one more possibility. "Mr. Chekov, they will have to lower their shields when their captain beams over. Monitor our own stations to ensure this other person does not take advantage of the situation."

Their captain. I am no better than anyone else with the prominence I place on it.

Their married captain with three children and in harmony with himself.

Kirk thought out loud, "It could be what he's waiting for. If it is, we'll get him, especially with the other ship monitoring as well. One of us is going to see him if he tries it."

"Sir?" Lieutenant Uhura again. "Can we ask about the three people we have on board? Are they all right?"

Kirk blinked. He most likely remembered that the conversations between the landing parties and him would be played out loud on bridge, to keep Sulu – who had the conn – and the others informed in case of necessary action: standard procedure.

So they knew that the three people were not only here, but children. Like good officers, they kept it to themselves.

They had probably pieced together what Kirk said about the three children asking for Spock along with his _you have something of mine_.

So Kirk smiled over the concern and answered honestly. "Yes, they are. McCoy's taking good care of them."

Sulu gave Spock a near apologetic look. "If you don't mind me asking, are they yours, sir?"

"Clearly, they are not since, as everyone here well knows, I have no children. As for the possibility of their being that male's," Spock bobbed his head down in the direction of the _Contact_ , "we would need to know he is me at a later point of my life."

Chekov looked at his mentor. "I didn't know you vanted a keptaincy, Mr. Spock."

"Neither did I, Mr. Chekov."

The question and his answer earned him a lot of looks from startled to measuring, but he couldn't tell any of them what he didn't know himself, how someday he would desire to command a starship as well as being the father he saw reflected in the children's eyes.

"Sir?" Sulu addressed Kirk, bringing everyone else's eyes off of Spock. Thankfully. The helmsman's tone matched his expression of stoic acceptance. "We can't help them much, can we?"

"No, we can't. The truth is, if I had known who they were before we found the children, I wouldn't have beamed them over."

"Keptin!"

Kirk gave the twenty-two-year-old Chekov a near avuncular look that turned firm. "This ship recently learned that anything can destroy time. You can do something that's good, but it ends up ruining the future of billions of people. It can be hell to put things back the way it has to be."

The entire bridge crew looked startled, because they didn't know the details of what happened to Kirk on that mission with the Guardian, but Spock did. His captain's sharp tone came from it, from what he had to do to _her_ : Edith Keeler.

The captain nodded his chin at the viewscreen, even though the _Contact_ wasn't in sight. "They know it too or they wouldn't do something so small as to drop below us. The good news is," he managed a smile, "no harm seems to be done taking our new… passengers on board. Now we get them back to their Spock and hopefully watch his ship be able to go home."

Kirk clapped his hands on the end of the chair's arms. "Let's use the time to update our guests on what's going on."

Spock noticed the careful way he lifted himself up from the seat because of the wound in his back. He really should still be in Sickbay for that extra day, but he was fit to command and the emergency had reached a level where the _Enterprise_ benefited from her captain.

They went into the turbolift where Kirk gave the order for Sickbay. He stared at his first officer and Spock waited, knowing his captain wouldn't stay quiet for long.

He didn't. A ride in the lift didn't give much time. "I can't imagine what it'd be like to see myself older. I wonder what I'm like, how much I've changed."

Spock gave it thought. "There would be the level that comes from experience. However, I suspect you would be much the same."

A smile. "I'm not capable of change?"

"On the contrary. Yet, you know who you are and what you want from your life. Therefore, I believe you would find your future holds the essential James T. Kirk with experiences giving you additional wisdom."

"You don't see that in your future self?"

"I see that… and more."

The door snapped open. Kirk stepped out first and used himself to block Spock.

"If you ever do reach a point where you want your own ship-"

"Sir, I have no desire to become a captain."

Another smile. "Things change. You're not disloyal if that ends up being what you want. I had friends come with me from my first command to the _Enterprise_."

Something flashed across Kirk's face. The people who had followed him met bad ends. _Gary Mitchell_ _being first_ , Spock thought. Kirk's best friend whom he had to kill when the man became affected by energies from the galactic barrier. Then Lieutenant Commander Benjamin Finney faked his death and had tried to frame Kirk for it.

"But," he continued, "other friends asked me to go with them to _their_ commands over the years. But I saw my own captain stripes in my future, so I didn't go with anyone else. I didn't stay with my captains either, even if Captain Garravik had lived. I always left to move up the ladder."

"That didn't mean I was disloyal, Spock, and you won't be either if you go. After all, we've known since the kids got here that you leave the _Enterprise_ for the _Contact_ at least."

"No, Captain," Spock declared, "I did not know it as a definite fact. I thought it might be a temporary assignment."

"True." Kirk grinned as he encouraged him, "My point is, my ego can take it if you move on. Now let's get to Sickbay. I don't want to hold up the other you once he's ready."

"Jim!" McCoy pounced on them the second they walked into the ward. He took hold of Kirk by the shoulders and maneuvered him to stand in front of the window screen. "About time. I need you to stand here."

"Bones, what is this? We don't have time for games."

"Just give me a second. It'll be worth it. Spock, you stand there." He pointed to a spot between the foot of the first and second medical beds. "The faster you do, the faster you get on to whatever. Okay. Let me just backup here so I have the perfect view of both your faces. Good."

He gestured to Setik who obediently moved to stand in front of him at the end of Sarek's bed. McCoy dropped his hands on the child's shoulders. Spock couldn't believe how quickly that rapport had built.

He should have taken that as a warning.

"Okay, boy, tell Captain Kirk and especially Mr. Spock what you just told me."

Setik did. "I am going to be a Starfleet doctor. I have begun what training I can for my age."

McCoy's arms flew up in victory. "Did you hear that?!" he crowed. "Jim, did you hear that?! A Starfleet doctor!"

Spock put on his best 'just another McCoy moment to be borne' expression as he envisioned being tortured with this the rest of his life. _My son chooses McCoy to emulate._

Had he just thought _my son_? No, his older self's son. Not that McCoy would make that distinction.

Which was what was being shouted at him. " _Your_ son wants to be like _me!_ Me! Wait a minute, I forgot. Tell them the other part, boy."

Setik again did so calmly and Spock got the suspicion this discussion happened often later in his life. "Doctor McCoy has always supported me. He has taught me since I was old enough to understand, before my formal education began. He is my major influence."

Kirk's shoulders were shaking hard as he clamped a hand over his mouth and put an arm around his ribs.

"Major influence!" the doctor bragged. Spock wondered how his father didn't awaken from his trance. "Me! I didn't know it, but my whole life has been leading me to this moment."

"Clearly, Doctor, it is an influence my older self and his wife should have removed." _Wife_. How foreign that was to even think. He had barely managed to say it about T'Pring.

"Don't be a sore loser. By the way, I put this in my personal log so it's part of the official record. So what's going on, Jim?"

Kirk got his laughter under control, although it seemed to be ready burst out for the first minute. His eyes swept the ward. T'Kel ended up being behind them, but crossed the room when she saw they looked for her. T'Pren was behind Setik and the doctor, and came out too.

Spock realized who was missing. "Doctor, where is my mother?"

T'Pren looked up with large, dark eyes. McCoy caught those and shook his head. "No wonder your grandfather and father are putty in your hands. Jim, it's part of her education and it's nothing sensitive. All right? Go ahead, T'Pren."

She nodded and turned with great importance to Kirk and Spock. She subtly emphasized the latter, or at least she thought she did it subtly. McCoy was right: the information was mundane. Sarek's aide, Siavann, came to give the daily report. With the ambassador still in the healing trance, he informed Amanda that the other delegates argued. She left to speak with them, which answered the question of why the diplomats had stopped complaining to the bridge.

T'Pren looked at Spock, ready to say something else, before she abruptly switched to Kirk. He swiftly realized she would have talked with him as her father, as she normally would, but remembered his refusal to have anything to do with any of them, so she switched to the other one of them who gave her acceptance: Kirk.

Now he noticed their concealed, betrayed looks. Setik completely masked his; his studies leading to his maturity test made that possible. The twins were younger. _I am already failing them_. But he didn't know what to do about it.

"Grandmother said," T'Pren finished to Kirk, "that she was reluctant to leave us. She did not know when she could return. Doctor McCoy called the ambassadors ignorant – _vIvupen_."

"I didn't say that!" McCoy shifted guilty. "Although what I did say wasn't good for her to repeat."

T'Pren looked back up at Kirk, still reporting. "That is why I didn't say it. I thought it was one of those sort of words, but I did not know a better word like it, so I created one. We are not allowed to curse."

T'Kel examined a medical bed. "Not even like Mother."

Spock's head jerked around to stare at her. "Your mother uses such language? In front of you?"

Setik seemed to feel the need to step in. His head tilted to the side. "Mother rarely curses and never if we are there. However, we have twice come into a place behind her while she is saying something."

McCoy grinned at Kirk. "You forget what little parrots they are."

T'Kel looked down at her body. "I am not a parrot."

Kirk bit his lip. "No, you are not, and Doctor McCoy should watch his language. But I came to tell you that I spoke with your father."

Three young Vulcans figuratively dropped what they were doing and snapped into a line. T'Pren was there already, so she fired off the questions. "Is he coming here? Is Mother with him? Are we going home?"

Kirk bent down to be closer to them, and Spock saw a quick wince pull at the captain's eyes. To help him, Spock started to answer the children himself, but Kirk shot him a look and shook his head. "He is coming here, alone. We can't know who your mother is, remember? Your grandmother said she'd explain all that." They nodded slowly. "We're first going to make sure he is your father and then we'll see about getting you home. All right?"

Three virtually simultaneous, Yes, sirs.

A door opened somewhere in one of the other Sickbay rooms, most likely the exam room next door, and Christine Chapel came in. She stopped in her tracks and her eyes grew at the sight of Setik and the girls.

McCoy barked, "Nurse, I ordered everyone to stay out. If this is a medical case, we opened that temporary clinic for a reason! Everybody gets treated there until further notice or call me if you need me to come down."

She forced her eyes to go to him. "I know, Doctor. I'm here for another reason. Rumors are all over the ship about the children being here. I knew you wanted that kept confidential, so I came to tell you."

"What do they know?" Kirk demanded.

"The crew knows they're here and that they are Mr.-" She looked at him and again forced herself to turn away, "Mr. Spock's. That there's another ship out there, one that doesn't fit in our time. Some people said there's a future version of Mr. Spock on that ship and that he's coming here. And that… his wife is also on board. Everyone is speculating who she might be."

McCoy ground out, "I bet they are. Gossip's going to be everywhere on whether she's human or Vulcan or something else altogether."

Kirk exploded over the breach of his orders. "Bones! I told you to delete every test result on the children!"

"Hold on, Jim! You're accusing me?"

"No! But the only way anyone could know Setik and the girls are Spock's is to see those tests! Nobody else knew and we don't have any other proof."

"And I'm telling you they had another way than those tests, and I can prove it!"

Spock interceded before tempers could go too far. "How, Doctor?"

McCoy spun towards him. He hadn't cooled down yet. "Because anyone who sees that data can tell you and everyone else about your wife!"

Spock's mouth parted. He wanted to tell McCoy not to say anything; he wasn't ready to _know_. As this abstract figure far in his future, he could manage the thought of her.

Kirk, however, spoke before he did. His anger faded into confusion. "Bones, how can you know who his wife is?"

McCoy's head went from one to the other. "I can't give you her _name_ , so you can both stop looking at me like that. But think about it, Jim. She's in the kids' biology. I _can_ tell you if she's human or Vulcan or if she's something else altogether. The point is, if someone stole those test results, they could tell you the same thing, and they didn't. With them spreading everything else around, why would anybody be quiet about that?"

Kirk rubbed his chin. "Could they not understand the results?"

"Then why steal them? I don't know how they found out what they did, but they didn't get it here. Anyone else who knew the children were in Sickbay didn't know they were Spock's. So it's a puzzle I don't have the answer to."

Spock had been staring ahead and saw the twins and Setik had pulled away from the argument. Not thrown off, merely waiting for the adults to calm down.

 _If McCoy is a major influence, they most likely are used to bad tempers._

The casual thought was only a reflex from his and the doctor's so called arguments. He held McCoy in high esteem and it did not surprise him at all that the man was around the children, any more than the thought that Jim was. If Spock thought any less of the Doctor, he never would have asked the man to come with him when he went to marry T'Pring.

Putting aside all that, Spock watched the children. He knew answers to their mother shouted at him with every movement. Setik's early calm was not his. The twins' coloring was not his. T'Kel's personality was not his or Amanda's or Sarek's, unlike T'Pren.

They belonged to their mother or someone in her family. The woman who married that older, advanced Spock.

The problem with being able to multitask was these questions worked in his mind as he listened to Kirk.

"Put aside the DNA results. The only people who knew about the children at all were your two men, Bones," the captain discussed, "and the bridge crew." He chewed on the inside of his lip and shook his head. "I can't see anyone on the bridge doing this. Spock?"

He gave it serious thought. He went through each one, including people at secondary stations. "I agree, Captain. None display the nature to do this and that is borne out in their service records."

"I'll make it three," McCoy added. "I've been inside their heads as well as taking care of them physically. I don't mean it like a meld, T'Pren, but that's a good question. It means I understand how their minds work. Jim, I'd give my people the same vote of confidence."

He continued, "It's wrong that it got out, but let's be reasonable. The point is, it sounds like it's idle chatter, not something that's going to be the _Enterprise_ to her knees."

"All right, let's be reasonable." Kirk said. "I don't like that someone did this. I can't ignore that, but... they haven't harmed anything. Chapel."

Spock looked back and saw the nurse still stared at the children. _His wife is also on board. Everyone is speculating who she might be._ Yes. Everyone.

Chapel broke out of her thoughts. "Yes, Captain?"

"Do you know who started this?"

McCoy interrupted, "Hold on a second. Setik, why don't you take your sisters to my office? Lock the doors. That will give you privacy to talk or whatever."

The boy gestured to his sisters who obediently fell into place behind him. He stopped in front of Chapel. "Excuse me," he told her, "I did not want to interrupt you earlier." He swept an arm across his chest and bowed smartly. "Greetings. My name is Setik."

Spock's eyebrows shot up.

Chapel turned wide-eyed, but gave him a slight smile in return. "That was very sweet, thank you."

"You are welcome. Doctor McCoy taught me the gesture. He said I must always be a gentleman."

His 'mentor' had to get over his own surprise before he could say, "Nicely done, boy. Now off you go."

Setik signaled again to the twins and they left. As soon as they passed through the archway, Spock heard their low voices discussing what was going on. _When will Father get here?_ and _Why does Mr. Spock not-?_ were the main points. The voices stopped as they grasped that they could be heard by at least him.

 _Most likely, they rely on telepathy again_. He wondered for not the first time in his life what it would have been like to have a sibling. He had Sybok, but someone else, someone exactly like him, someone who understood what it meant. Not that his parents hadn't tried. Perhaps that was why his older self had three children.

McCoy grumbled. "Should have done that right away. Setik knows what he's doing. I gave him a tour earlier. Nurse, you were saying."

"Yes, Doctor. By the time I heard anything, it had passed through a dozen people already. Bits and pieces of it came from different groups. A few told me they had heard about the other ship, others heard about the children, and so on. Captain, it is only rumors, and no one is talking about it while on duty. The bridge crew doesn't even know, because they're still on their shift."

McCoy folded his arms over his chest. "Just as we thought, whisper down the lane. One person says, 'Don't tell anyone else,' and the next thing you know, the whole ship's buzzing with it. I can understand it, even if I don't like it. You too, Jim. I haven't seen you down here this much voluntarily in months. You know what else? I think all of it is just shots in the dark. Think about it. No one, as far as I know, had any idea Spock's wife is on that ship. So she might not be. They put together a couple of details, added a bunch from their imagination, and now they got a whopper of a story. It's rumors, that's all."

"And a few just happen to hit the mark?" Kirk pulled on his lower lip before agreeing. "All right. So the cat's out of the bag. I don't like it, but I… understand it too. As long as it doesn't affect their work or the children, it's not a problem. But I still want to know who's behind it. They should have known not to spread any of that information. Nurse Chapel, go back to the clinic so we take care of legitimate cases." She went out. "Bones, check the computers. Make sure those test results are really gone and no one looked them up."

McCoy objected. "They never were in the system. I did the basic tests and then destroyed the samples. I didn't log anything in. I even used a tricorder and then wiped it. Nothing about the children and this other Mr. Spock ever existed in the system."

"Captain Spock," Kirk corrected. "He's the commander of the _Contact_."

McCoy didn't know where to look first. "Well, I didn't see that coming. But then who say any of this coming." He turned his head towards Spock, frowning with concern. "It's been a helluva day for you. How are you handling all this?"

Spock gazed back evenly. "As expected, Doctor."

"So terrible then."

"Bones, just check everything. Look, I understand curiosity. You're right, I got a good healthy case of it myself, and now that it's out there, I'm not going to go on the warpath. But I someone in my crew discovered something obviously meant to be kept quiet and spread it around instead. If I thought it was all right for everyone to know, I'd have told them myself."

"All right, Jim. I'm going."

McCoy walked out and Kirk crossed the room. "If that's all it is, someone who was just bursting to spread what they found out, then we settle it easily."

"It does appear to be nothing more, Captain."

"Until then, Spock, I don't want anyone coming into Sickbay for whatever reason. The kids are a big temptation. If we decide to take them out of here, fine, but not right now. I want to settle things with Captain Spock first."

Spock contended this was a bad idea. "You shouldn't go alone in the event this person is not who he says he is."

The children came back, saying McCoy had told them he needed his computers and it was all right to return to the ward.

"I can take care of myself," Kirk insisted. "I'll be fine. I'll still bring him here to do that DNA test. If it's him, he'll want to see the twins and Setik."

Kirk suddenly noticed T'Kel has sidled up beside him. "And to what do I owe this honor? Do you need me for something?"

"Yes," she said calmly. "I need you to move. I want the computer."

Outraged, Spock started reprimanding her, even if Jim found it funny, but only got her name out, when she went to Kirk, "Wait! I beg pardon, I forgot. I request that you allow me to reach the computer, sir. That is how I should have said it."

He accepted her apology and listened to her lament that talking correctly was hard and the whole thing was inefficient anyway. That was why she had her twin speak for her. T'Pren liked to talk, she confided, and was good at it.

"You get to give orders," T'Kel lamented, still aggrieved at the unfairness of it all, "and no one tells you you're rude."

Kirk nodded somberly in agreement. "I have to talk to admirals though. They're just as bad. But maybe you'll get to give orders someday. Let me know if you do. We'll take on the universe and T'Pren can talk for both of us. It'll be fun."

She thought this over. "Setik could work in Sickbay."

"Good point."

She lifted an eyebrow with a hint of pleading, "And my mother?"

Kirk smiled at her. "Definitely your mother. This is shaping up to be a grand adventure. I can't wait to go."

The intercom hailed him and he told the three of them that he had to leave. He couldn't pick up T'Kel, but he got out of her way and she scrambled up the bed. He left then, remarking to Spock, "It's a damn shame I'm not going to remember them once we put time back. You do good work, Mr. Spock." He winked and took off for the transporter room.

That left Spock with the children.

He took stock of the situation in the same way as managing his science department. Each of them showed slight signs of having been contained in a small space with little to do. But they handled it well. T'Kel asked him to set her up on the computer and requested it in the right way. Setik was at a standstill without McCoy, but went over what he had been shown already. T'Pren went through steps of a dance she recently learned at school while going over words from a language she was learning. At times she spoke like she was in the middle of a conversation to Setik and to him, and Spock realized she talked for her twin and herself.

Something made her forget and she called him, "Father."

He made the mistake he rarely made: he spoke before thinking his statement through. "As I have told you, I am not your father and you are not my children."

It was like he pushed the detonator on an explosive.

T'Kel's eyes got a strange light. "No, you are not."

Pandemonium. He didn't know what else to call it. The children spiraled into anarchy – while oddly still being in Vulcan control – and bombarded him. McCoy came running from his office.

"What the hell happened?! For gods sakes, Spock, do something!"

Spock pushed it back on McCoy, secretly begging him. "You have a daughter, Doctor, you must have the experience to do this yourself."

"They're your kids!"

Spock struggled on what to do and at last moved to the comm panel.

McCoy asked, "You're making a call now?!"

He answered solemnly. "Whenever facing an area where we know little on the subject, we must call in an expert."

At the comm panel, he waited for the person to answer the hail. "Mother? If you are available, I am in need of your assistance."

Amanda arrived to see T'Kel had found the control to the medical bed to turn it into a slide to practice her physical exercises, as well as almost taking apart the computer; Setik was into his grandfather's life signs and investigating how the Feinberger worked, poking at its circuitry; and T'Pren verbally ran circles around a confused Spock. Taking it in at a second, she called out firmly, " _Kroykah_!"

Three children immediately sat on the beds, quiet, and well-behaved.

Spock knew the lecture was coming, for the them _and_ him. But first, Amanda targeted McCoy with a twinkle. "You asked me earlier if a Vulcan child ran and played."

He protested, "I said like human children! These are whirling dervishes!"

T'Kel scowled. "We run and play like children. Why segregate it?"

Spock lifted a mocking eyebrow. "That is two for them, Doctor." He recognized the pride as he said that. Perhaps this was not so bad after all.

Amanda bent down over T'Kel. "You are still in trouble, _t'nash-veh rihag ko-fu-il_." Spock saw McCoy bring up a translator thus letting him know she had said, _'my difficult granddaughter_ '. "So no lectures from you." Amanda circled T'Pren's face with a forefinger, indicating the girl's expression. "Don't you attempt this. You inherited that look from me, so it won't work. I'm immune to it."

Her grandson was next. Spock had to say this for the boy. He was unflappable and took the lecture responsibly. "Setik, this is not the behavior of someone who has passed his _kahs-wan_."

Spock remembered hating that lecture when he was a child. 'Hating' being a figurative word.

McCoy still rubbed his head, noting he had forgotten what it was like having kids this age.

"They can be like trying to control a sandstorm." Amanda's grin was all in the eyes. She diagnosed her son's (and company's) problem. "You tried reasoning with them, Spock. An enviable trait, but sometimes a parent has to enforce the rules and nothing else. We also shouldn't have cooped them up for so long with little to do."

Which Spock had just thought himself. He should have remembered it and the consequences of what he said.

He much preferred Amanda 'enforcing the rules' with her grandchildren than when it was him years ago. And today.

"As you said, they're children," she spoke to McCoy. "Any child would get this way, but Vulcan children? Their minds _need_ something to do or they stagnate and that's trouble. You may not like what they find for themselves. Not to mention, they are taught to learn everything they can. Which backfired on you," she smiled on her son, "because you didn't know when to give them boundaries."

She turned back to her son. "They were testing you, Spock. You keep insisting they're not your children, so they decided to see just how far they could go with a father who doesn't know how to be one. You didn't score very high. But don't worry, you learn by doing."

Spock narrowed his eyes. "Mother, you are enjoying this."

"I am. There's a thing called the parent's curse. 'I hope you have children just like you.' I'm enjoying myself immensely." She smiled. "Although, my kingdom for a sehlat."

McCoy frowned. "I don't understand. The teddy bear?"

Setik and the girls gave him amused looks. They apparently had heard this many times.

Amanda explained. "I misled you about the teddy bear idea. They're large animals. Setik can still ride his for quite a while yet." McCoy paled. "They're also an answer to a parent's prayer: guardian, pet, and disciplinarian. Earth should import them. What would Ko-Kan have done if she had been here?" she asked firmly, turning back to the children.

They exchanged stares.

"So don't think anything I said to Mr. Spock excuses your behavior. You and I know both better than that. If Ko-Kan and I aren't enough to make you reassess your behavior, may I remind you that your father is coming and your grandfather can hear everything in that trance."

Three sets of eyes grew very big.

"Grandmother," T'Pren said hurriedly, "in our defense, we actually did nothing that wasn't part of our studies."

Kirk hailed Sickbay. Captain Spock was on board.


	7. Chapter 7

USS _Contact_ NCC-26546, Transporter Room One

"Come with me."

Saavik's head came up. She hadn't expected Spock to say that. "Do not tempt me."

"On the contrary, I very much want to tempt you."

She got a smokey light in her eyes that had nothing to do with logic. "I could take that a number of ways."

They were alone in the room for this exact reason: privacy before he left.

She came to stand in front of him. She had earlier watched him smooth the blue uniform tunic down his body into proper lines and told him, "You are giving me ideas of doing the same." Now she did: she ran her hand slowly down his chest, smoothing a uniform already in place. And why shouldn't she? He was her husband.

She left her hand there, laying on his heart. "You know I want the same thing."

"Yes. And I know why you cannot." He took her hand between his. So warm. Not from body temperature, they were cooler than humans, but from being her. His wife.

Which is why he wanted her to come with him. "If you could, I would have everyone important to me in one place, with you there not only as an associate or friend this time. But with you as my consort, my mate. We never could do so before, because my mother and Jim would no longer there."

"We would not be able to say I was yours."

"We would know."

"Spock." Saavik's eyes showed the internal scales of wife and captain. "Do not tempt me."

"I know." He ran his thumb over the back of her hand and her kindled look returned. "I should not have asked. It is not logical. Except-"

"Marriage has nothing to do with logic," she finished for him. One corner of her mouth lifted slightly, just for him. So many things were just for him, as so much was only for her.

Marriage. _Fascinating_.

"I begin to think logic equally has little to do with parenthood. I know the children are well, and yet – I'm pleased you will see so for yourself. Give them a message from me."

 _She has more than one reason to be tempted_. "I believe I know it."

"Yes, you would. Yours is much the same." Saavik touched his forehead and imparted what she wanted their daughters and son to know. She then stroked his hand in return, a kiss to send him on his way.

She went back to the transporter station even though the _Enterprise_ was beaming him over. One more way to hide their technology, even in a simple way. "Lieutenant Bimojigar, inform the _Enterprise_ that Mr. Spock is ready."

He once more checked his uniform: blue shirt with commander stripes, _Enterprise_ insignia, and the Sciences emblem inside of it. How both odd and familiar to wear this again. Would the others he once wore be the same? After all, he dressed in one of them when he first fell for Saavik and Kirk had returned to the _Enterprise_.

 _And my mother still lived._

Saavik watched again as he went over himself. " _Adun_." _My life's partner_. Literally.

The hum of the beam started. She timed it perfectly as he left one transporter room for the other. "Savor this. You deserve it. You all do."

She disappeared before he could reply.

Then Spock appeared on the other pad nearly instantaneously and remembered he had to stand still with this technology. It was no problem, because as someone just told him, he needed to appreciate each moment, starting here.

Back in the transporter room he had seen thousands of times. Mr. Scott at the console, looking as if one of his engines suddenly started talking in Gaelic, and right in front of the transporter pads: James Kirk.

His hair was nearly blonde still; it wouldn't darken for another year. The command green tunic edged his hazel eyes towards the same color, and showed him in peak shape like so many other years. He had the same amazed look that he wore when they recently spoke.

"Greetings, Captain." As if Spock had only been gone a day or two.

"Spock." Kirk unapologetically stared and smiled. "It really is you, isn't it?"

"I believe we will be determining that shortly."

The smile widened. "I could bet on the answer."

Scotty shook his head without tearing his eyes away. "I canna believe it. Even with what I saw on that ship, I just canna believe it."

Spock nodded slowly. "I understand, Mr. Scott." He turned back to Kirk. "I still must take the necessary genetic test to prove my identity. However, permission to come aboard, Captain?"

Kirk shot Scotty a look as if they needed to discuss it.

"I was wondering, lad—"

 _Lad_. How good it was to once more see Scott alive anyway, but talk like that made it even better.

"—if you could name something that only our Mr. Spock would know."

Kirk watched him for a reaction. He merely lifted an eyebrow. "An excellent tactic. Sound and wise."

Their earlier communication was never enough to prove who he was, but it brought him here. If he was not Spock and dangerous, they had drawn him in where he could be taken, instead of him remaining a threat out of reach. If he passed this next step, he'd be allowed to reach the final assessment: McCoy's DNA test.

Spock had already noticed the Type I phaser secured right above Kirk's hip under his tunic. No offense was taken of course; it was a smart precaution.

"To answer you, Mr. Scott." _While the captain observes me for physical subtleties where I prove myself as authentic or a fabrication_. "I believe I can provide you with such a response. On Stardate 1709.2, the _Enterprise_ responded to an emergency call from Outpost 4. We discovered it was a Romulan ship who later engaged us in battle. It marked the first time anyone in the Federation saw a Romulan."

 _That had the opportunity to say so. Because Saavik and everyone else on the Hellguard colony, right now, have been seeing Romulan faces for years. They simply cannot tell us so until T'Pren is able to make her escape and tell us Hellguard exists_.

With Saavik's help and sacrifice for the Vulcan woman who was, in every true sense, her mother. Only biology and legalities stated otherwise, and, _the latter would have been resolved if T'Pren had survived_.

It was why their daughter bore her name: for the woman who would have been her grandmother, the woman whose bravery saved those remaining lives.

Kirk nodded with small movements of his head. "That's good… but anyone with Starfleet clearance could see our logs on it. It doesn't prove you're Spock."

"No, it does not. I could provide you with other details, such as the Commander's last words to you or the name of the crewman prejudiced against me in that mission. However, I will tell you a detail that you yourself did not know then. You only recently learned it when Sarek came on board. The Romulan Commander looked remarkably like my father. They were physical copies of each other. I am the only who knew it and I did not put it in my reports. Nor have you entered it in your logs for the Babel mission. Like me, you saw no reason to do so."

"At the same time," he continued, "no one who has seen my father during this mission would know about the Commander unless they were on the bridge for that earlier mission. That is limited to myself, you, Mr. Scott, Dr. McCoy, and Lieutenants Sulu and Uhura. All other bridge personnel have been reassigned between the two missions, and anyone else who learned of the Vulcan and Romulan similarities, did not see an actual image of the Commander."

"Therefore," he finished, "it is a detail no one could find on record anywhere. I am either Spock or one of the other five people with that knowledge. If I may, Captain, it would be quite diverting if you were to report to Dr. McCoy that I might be a version of him."

A big grin split Scott's face. "Aye, he convinced me."

Kirk gave the same nod, but now with a flash that showed he was enjoying this to the full limit.

So was Spock.

His sharp hearing picked up people leaving from the other side of the door; no doubt Security officers who Scott now signaled they weren't needed.

Spock looked calmly at Kirk. "Permission to come aboard?" he repeated.

"I think I can take the risk." The captain looked at the blue shirt. "Your uniform. I thought it would be… different."

"I thought it best to wear the one you know."

"Yes, of course." Kirk contacted the bridge and told Sulu to push the speed to Babel, and to let the _Contact_ know that plan. He half-turned and gestured outside the transporter room with one arm. The grin came back. "I think you know the way."

 _Blindfolded, as you would say_.

Spock stepped down from the transporter pads and started to walk by Kirk. He deliberately slowed the last couple steps. The captain, without thinking, took the customary lead and Spock fell into his old place.

How many years had it been? He naturally knew the exact number, but that wasn't the point. The point was he had left Starfleet when Kirk's death meant it was never going to be _this_ captain again. He relished his career as an ambassador; he did important work that challenged him and made a difference. It had been time for that change and he would not leave it. It did not lessen this borrowed chance to walk with this captain for a limited time.

He put everything negative behind a door: the look on Jim's face when he asked Spock and McCoy to go with him to the _Enterprise_ -B and they refused, although for good reason; losing Amanda, her hand in his and staying by her side until she was gone; Perrin with his father; and Scott's death. Everything put out of sight, so he had _this_ hour, day, whatever it would be.

 _Savor it_.

The walk from the transporter room to Sickbay – and they had to be going there, to McCoy and the final test – was a mere minute. Plenty of time to remember all the moments they made this same walk. Missions completed or in progress, beaming back to the ship, and needing to work out what was going on or to discuss what had just happened.

" _You're making it too complicated," McCoy once corrected him. "Look, we'd get into that contraption and we'd beam down. We'd get captured, then Jim would kiss or punch somebody, and we'd go home_."

They were halfway down the corridor before Kirk realized what he had done, that he took the usual lead; and that Spock stood a few steps further away than normal.

"Everything all right?"

"Completely, Captain. I thought you might prefer a space between us in the event I am not Spock. Another tactical maneuver."

"What makes you think I'm still wondering about it?"

Up shot an eyebrow. "You still carry the phaser." _And the corridor is empty_. Although that could be to keep his presence a secret from the crew, rather than the captain being concerned about an attack on them.

The hazel eyes crinkled at the corners as white teeth flashed. "Anything else?"

"I could be concerned you are not James Kirk. The buffer of that additional space would then work for me as well."

Nothing in the balanced stance or the continued wide, easy smile ever considered Spock didn't believe him. "Do you have a phaser?"

"I would not need one." He said it lightly, but they both knew it was true. He was stronger than Kirk and he had decades of experience over him. He could easily render his opponent unconscious and disarm him, if needed.

But it wasn't needed.

"Bragging, Mr. Spock? …Listen. You know we can't do much to help you." Spock agreed. "But whatever we can do, just ask."

"I have thought on it and I am speculating on a few possibilities."

"Then let's get this last test out of the way. Oh, wait. The children," they had stopped again, "you know they're all right?"

"I do." Because of their earlier conversation, but mostly because his bond to his son and daughters had amplified by coming over to the _Enterprise_. Despite his seeming to focus on nothing else but his old life, he kept those mental links close, like being conscious of his heart beating. His children did the same which is why the bonds had intensified.

"You'll see them once we get the DNA check out of the way. Just another precaution." They started walking again. "Setik and the girls." He then shook his head with a chuckle under his breath. "I told our Spock that you do good work."

"Thank you, Captain. My wife was of great assistance as well."

The chuckle wasn't under the breath anymore. "Of course. Just so you know, T'Kel and I are forming our own fleet. You may want to get on the duty roster. Everyone else in your family is."

McCoy's voice rang out into the corridor even with the Sickbay doors just opening. "Leave it to you. Not only are they identical twins, but mirror ones. Do you know what the odds are on that? Even for humans let alone a Vulcan?"

Kirk just turned into the ward ahead. "Mirror ones?"

Spock hung back a step. He could just make out all three of them – Jim, McCoy, and the Spock of their time – in the ward. His past set out as a living tableau. It was worth the few seconds to watch.

"Yeah, Jim. If you put T'Kel and T'Pren face to face, it's like they're looking at a mirror. One's left handed, the other's right handed. They have a few other physical things like that, and then there's the personalities. T'Kel hates talking and T'Pren loves it. T'Pren is all about – wait, I thought that other Spock came over from the other ship."

He took the last step into the ward. "You thought correctly, Doctor."

The wide-eyed, speechless look he received in return gave him a moment to deal with his own surprise.

Leonard McCoy.

The doctor still formed a major part of Spock's life and in his family's, so he hadn't expected to be thrown at the sight of him. But young, strong, the hair completely dark, and – not the man who bore his _katra_ to Seleya at such cost. How amazing that actually showed in the eyes.

And in what was said, if he thought about it. McCoy's comments to him changed after that point. Less sharp barbs about not being human, about feeling nothing, and instead _I know what's in that head and heart of yours_. Because McCoy did know everything. Plenty of arguments still, plenty of pushes, and _a kick up your backside if I have to_.

Somewhere around that point, McCoy decided he could yell at Saavik too. Not the general yelling everyone got, but the particular sort of thing, and for the same reason. Bearing Spock's _katra_ meant the doctor learned about Saavik from the person who knew her best. To this day, Spock thoroughly enjoyed asking McCoy when he was going to give Saavik the lectures of letting her emotional half free of her Vulcan half.

Spock now had the upper hand here. Except that must be put aside for the moment.

"Doctor, before we proceed, Captain Kirk has told me of the good care you have given the children. I expected no less, however, I am appreciative of your doing so."

McCoy cleared his throat. "It's okay. They're good kids." He snapped his fingers and then jabbed one at him in triumph. "I found out about Setik wanting to be a doctor!"

Spock folded his hands in front of him. "I am certain your reaction was much the same as yours in my own time."

"How much do I drive you crazy with it?"

An eyebrow lifted. "You set your computer to randomly send a celebratory video to both my wife and I a few times per month."

"Good for future me! I told this one," McCoy jerked his head at the younger Spock, "that I like the kids better than I like you."

The doctor had said the same thing very recently after 'meeting' someone else. "But do you like them as much as tribbles, Doctor?"

McCoy snorted. "It's him. Two of you, I'm going to need something for a headache. Like a drink."

It brought Spock naturally to his younger self, showing very little of how difficult it must be to be under scrutiny.

"Interesting," he thought out loud.

His younger version stood straighter. "Less progress than you thought?"

"On the contrary, more." Spock expected to see what he had not yet become. He remembered those struggles: that hunt for balance, and for where his path lay. So he knew he wouldn't see it now in this mirror. What he hadn't anticipated: seeing how far he already came. "I remember it differently. It is true then, we are our own worst critics."

He now stood taller in his own uniform, for the same reason as the other had done. "And you?"

Younger Spock's brow furrowed. "I?"

"Yes. This view through a time portal works both ways. Have I… done well with your future at this point?"

That identical head flung back. He had never expected to be asked that question.

"I am quite serious." What did the other him think? He did not know everything about Spock's life now, but he surely knew enough to form some opinion.

Spock actually felt… anticipation, felt the scrutiny. Had he built a life he would have approved of younger?

"It is… unforeseen."

McCoy made a disgusted noise, Kirk's eyes darted between them, and Spock…

He nodded to the younger one. "I understand. I am reminded of it every day." He turned back. "Captain Kirk tells me three of the reasons for my unpredicted life are kept elsewhere for the moment."

"That's right," Kirk repeated. "Until you pass the DNA test."

His head bobbed in response. "May I suggest we perform the test so I may see the children?"

"Of course. Bones."

But Spock heard the stampede already headed towards them. So did his younger self. The children reached the ward by the time Kirk said the third word in his sentence.

" _FATHER._ "

The twins reached him first, only because they rushed headlong unlike Setik. T'Pren took hold of his left hand and laid it to the side of her face. She leaned in and quietly closed her eyes.

T'Kel was more abrupt. She grabbed his hand in her small ones and facepalmed herself. Both girls drew on his calm and strength as if he was a recharging station. Which, in a way, was true.

They poured out the details of what had happened today. Then they gave contented mental murmurs with his being so close. As they bathed in their father's mind, they found a message from their mother wrapped in the memory of her touch, and each twin gave an audible sigh. The stress of their abduction, and the taxing situation they woke up to, swept aside with a stroke of their father's hand and their mother's mental embrace.

Setik, however, held himself back. Spock watched his son's stiff posture and the distance he kept between them.

"Father," he said formally.

What was this? "Son."

The young shoulders shifted before the head was raised, but not the eyes. "Father, we were abducted at school. We were called out of our classes. The man was a stranger, even though he had our security codes. I should have recognized this. Then, when we came aboard the _Enterprise_ , one of us told the captain and others that you were our father. I do not know who it was, however, I should have found an excuse for it so they did not know the truth."

McCoy exploded, "Spock, just a damn minute! Are you telling me you're going-!"

The younger one cut off the rest of it, allowing his future self to focus only on Setik.

Spock pulled his hands away from the twins and walked a step closer. He almost knelt, but Setik clearly felt his additional two years over the girls and a perceived level of what he was expected to do for his age. "My son, you did well. Your sisters told me of all your actions and no one could find fault in them. Quite the opposite. You have handled yourself perfectly. That is what I think and so would your mother."

He reached down and laid a hand on Setik's dark head and let him absorb Saavik's presence and message. He slid his hand down his son's back and pulled him closer. That rich touch of his child – and then all three as the girls drew closer and took hold of him again. He drew his free hand over T'Pren's forehead and then down her cheek, soothing the last bit of remaining uneasiness. He repeated it with T'Kel, but not Setik. His son's mental controls were stronger at seven and after his _kahs-wan_. Still, Spock left the hand on his head and the physical closeness, drawing in them as much as they did him and Saavik. Setik's eyes lifted to his.

Spock spoke in understanding of his younger self's thoughts. "As we said, unforeseen."

"It is you."

Both Spocks spun around at that voice. The older one said, " _Mother_."

She glided over quickly and cupped his face in her hands. Breathlessly, she repeated. "It is you."

The old bond between them clicked back in place at her touch; not a true parental bond, but close to it. He closed his eyes to fully feel it for the eternity of a second. His voice roughened as a rush came over him as if he was no more than Setik's age. "Yes, it is."

Her hands slid down and rested on his chest. The sapphire eyes darted over his face, simply taking him in. " _Spock_."

He covered her hands with one of his. One of them had to say something, but what? He tried for lightness. "Mother, if you're looking for my heart, you know it is not there."

"I know." She gave the barest nod indicating the children. "It's in these three, and your wife, wherever she is."

He looked down at her from the tops of his eyes. "Fanciful."

"I notice you don't say fanciful and wrong. Spock, your wife," Amanda started and stopped. He wondered if she was afraid of what he'd say to whatever was coming next. "…Do I like her? Is she good for you?"

He kept his hand over hers. "You once called her extraordinary."

"So I do like her? Not just her, but her with _you_?"

Spock felt the warmth of all the memories of Amanda and Saavik together in their unique, outstanding way. The note Amanda had put on the back of a holopic of the two of them: _the daughter I found in you_. The way she wanted both Spock and Saavik to see what they were to each other already.

"Mother, it is not possible for you to love her more than you do. Both for herself and for her with me."

He felt her relax in relief with only one question left to eliminate all doubt. "And your father? What does Sarek think of her?"

Another memory: Sarek coming to him on Saavik's ship, the _Armstrong_ , cautious but determined in asking his son, was he wrong or did Spock want Saavik for a wife? "Father questioned why I waited so long to tell her she was my choice. As a matter of record, so did you."

 _Before I lost you_. No, keep that behind the door.

Saavik once noted that Amanda said everything with her eyes. Right now, she said _delight_ and a sense of being _whole_ : her family was complete.

Even so, she sighed. "I'm not going to get to talk to her, am I?"

He deliberately dropped his eyes, not wanting to deny her anything. "You will at a time in the future."

"Don't be deliberately dense. You can't manage it any more than your father can. You know I meant now and here."

"Mother." He stopped. "Mother, even if you did, you would not know it is her."

She leaned into the hands on his chest. "Don't be so sure." Her eyes became a mystery of secrets. "I have my ways."

 _And those will only increase when you study an adept's methods, so you understand why I sought out Gol_.

And I will say that you became more of a hybrid than me. Switching, as you will, from the Vulcan to the human and back again, ever the chameleon. You will call me illogical and try to raise an eyebrow. You will fail.

"Do not be disappointed, Mother, if you do not have the opportunity. It is not what we desire either."

Quite the opposite. Everyone important in one place. And for Saavik, one more time to speak with you.

Amanda at last stepped back. "I probably interrupted something."

Kirk reassured her it was fine and told McCoy to administer the DNA test.

"Well, this is a colossal waste of time. Spock," he indicated the older one to come over.

The blood sample was taken quickly and the tricorder hummed. Sarek laid in the bed right next to them.

"My father is doing well?" He remembered it that way, but reassuring to be certain again.

 _And look at my father, our ages so close here. He is…_ Spock thought the comparison made the Sarek of his time look… old. _But only in years. He is ever Sarek, even here recuperating from surgery_.

He freely acknowledged his relief over it, unlike the way he kept it hidden at this point in time.

Setik brightened. "Yes, Dr. McCoy taught me to understand the basics in the scans. Grandfather should awake in a few hours."

"Boy's a natural," McCoy gloated. "Going to be the best in Starfleet. Here's the results that we all knew already. I checked against his record and a sample I took right before you got here, Jim, plus the children. We have two Spocks – which is two more than anyone needs." He gave a startled jerk when he caught sight of Amanda. "Sorry, ma'am. I was only joking."

She narrowed her eyes even as her mouth pulled at the corners. "Don't make me call your mother."

Younger Spock nodded at the thought. "An entertaining notion."

Kirk broke this up. He looked directly at the older one to avoid confusion. "Now then, Spock, anything you want from us to prove we're who we say we are?"

He thought of pointing out that he very well knew, but he should take precautions. Too much was at risk. "Yes, Captain."

"Whatever you want."

Spock held out his hand to shake Kirk's, whose eyes immediately widened and looked at that offered hand. The entire room reacted in the same way, and no wonder: Vulcans limited any touch since it was meant their telepathy became engaged. Spock had toyed with it for a while, as he had with public emotions with Captain Pike. But it was uncomfortable and reminded him why his people didn't do it. In this time, he would only do it a few times more, starting with Zephram Cochrane. After that, he thought he had abandoned the gesture. It did not suit him and he had no blame for being himself, for being Vulcan.

Until Jim held out his hand before Spock jumped through the Guardian on the Time Vortex planet to try and save himself and Amanda. He would clasp Kirk's hand after V'Ger, and McCoy's on his and Saavik's wedding day. She would do the same.

Now, here, for this one more time, it suited him.

Kirk eyed him, offering Spock a chance to change his mind. He had not lived that handshake at the Guardian yet.

Spock kept his hand out.

His captain came forward and solidly clasped it, shaking it once in a combination being glad Spock would do this and solemnness that he had.

It all came through: vitality, intelligence, strength, leadership, deep commitment to duty and friends.

Spock summarized it with a single term. "Jim."

That same brilliant spark of life looked across their gripped hands. "It's good to see you, Spock, as always."

They dropped their hands, and T'Pren must have taken it as a sign she could talk. "Father, will we go to the _Contact_ now?"

"I have duties I need to accomplish first. Afterwards, we will go."

Setik looked at his sister who nodded. "We could go alone while you remain here."

Their unspoken subtext said, _Let us go to Mother._ He understood it, but he couldn't allow it.

"You will not. While the _Enterprise_ has proven safe, the _Contact_ has not. I am the only one who can transport back to the ship with you, so you will wait for me." He interrupted her before she could speak. "No further discussion, T'Pren."

She subsided, all three knew not to push him, even though they showed in their individual ways that they didn't want that answer.

Spock recognized T'Kel's planted feet ( _A trait she inherited from Saavik_ ) and T'Pren's measuring look. He viewed the other meaning of that and addressed the room. "Has there been any incidents?"

Kirk shook his head, but McCoy and the younger Spock exchanged glances. Amanda, on the other hand, laughed with her eyes. Sarek often gave him a similar look: the parent's curse.

The doctor finally answered him. "It was just a kid thing. They're pent up, that's all."

"T'Kel?"

"Well, not by herself, no.'

"But she initiated it?"

His younger self's brow furrowed. "How did you know?"

"Ninety-seven point seven nine percent, it is T'Kel."

Her defiant stance got worse. She actually stamped a foot as she balanced herself to fight back, her head tilted to the side. ( _Both traits also from Saavik._ ) "Father! That is unfair! He-!" pointing his other self.

T'Pren jumped in. "It has been a difficult day, Father." She ducked her head and looked up from the tops of her eyes, the same gesture she inherited from Amanda.

Who looked at her granddaughter, "I see what you're doing."

So did Spock. It _might_ have worked except he was unwilling to give in with his mother staring at him, knowing what was going on. _It is much simpler when Saavik is disciplinarian, at least for T'Pren._

So he stopped it immediately. The three of them displayed a lack of discipline, even Setik had slightly rough edges. "Mr. Spock is still an adult and you will pay him the respect he is due. You clearly have missed your meditations."

T'Kel wanted to argue, but that only proved him right.

They clustered together before turning back to him.

T'Pren spoke up, "Father." She was, once again, the chosen delegate, because Setik and T'Kel watched him keenly too. "Did you always want to get married and have children?"

Amanda made a small noise. Spock looked to her, saw her – what? Concern, curiosity, amusement?

All of the above?

"Why do you suddenly have this question?" He saw his younger self hanging back. _Ah_. "To answer you, no, I did not. You know I was betrothed before and it ended. Other than it, I had no plans for a wife and children."

Three young heads swiveled to find each other. This wasn't going well in their minds, that was evident, but T'Pren straightened her shoulders and stuck it out bravely. "What changed, Father? Was it obligation?"

"No."

She forced her chin up. "What was it then?"

"Your mother." Miraculous: two words and the peace returned to the place behind Setik's blue eyes, and an invisible weight slipped off the twins. They were, of course, two powerful words spoken by the one person who could say them in that one right way. Even so, amazing to see the effect on his son and daughters.

Undeniably, Saavik had always been the center of Setik's world, and for the girls: despite T'Kel's and Saavik's already conflicting because they were so alike ("W _hich secretly concerns my wife, to see what she fears is Hellguard in her daughter."_ )

Despite Saavik having to intervene with their younger girl's antics. ( _"Constantly, Spock. It has become nearly a verb in this family. 'To Amanda you: the ability for T'Pren to manipulate through the inheritance of her grandmother's attributes'. Father, you are equally guilty."_ )

Despite all that, Saavik was very much the hero of her daughters' lives.

Spock didn't need to say anymore, not for the children's sake… but for his younger self? "When your mother turned out to be the one who could be the wife and could be the one who would allow me to have children with her, my wants immediately changed, and my plans became giving her reason to choose me. Does that answer your question?"

T'Pren backpedaled to T'Kel. "Yes, quite thoroughly, Father."

His children returned to whatever conference kept them occupied, walking to the exam room for some privacy, but lingering in the doorway so they could still see him.

Spock turned and raised an eyebrow at his audience. "And you, Doctor? I imagine you heard the discussion. Was there anything I left ambiguous that I should clarify?"

"Of course I heard it, you were talking a few feet from me." But McCoy cleared his throat against the lump in it and Spock could tell by the softness in the man's expression that he really had been affected by what he heard. "And, uh, you were very clear. For the record, I'm glad that happened for you."

"Even though, as you would say, the word 'love' isn't written into my book." McCoy _would_ say that, later this year.

"You just can't let things alone, can you? I said something nice and you have to poke at it! And in front of the kids!"

"Thank you, Doctor." He glanced at Kirk. He simply wanted to know, almost needed to know, what his captain thought.

Very slight nods, a smile in the eyes that dropped for a second as if thinking the whole thing through. "You're lucky, Mr. Spock."

"More than I can describe."

His mother: her eyes glistened. "You know what makes me just as happy? That your father heard that."

He looked to Sarek in the healing trance and what he would one day tell his son. "Yes." A simple word to say so much.

Spock walked until he was side by side with his younger self. He lowered his voice to something no one else could hear. "You will reach that part of our path, if you still choose it."

His younger self's eyes lowered and anyone who knew him could see his mind turning. Amanda started walking to them, but Spock forestalled her with a raised hand.

At last that gaze lifted. "One question."

He knew that mind held a million things to ask. "Only one?"

"Only one you can answer. She _is_ a choice?"

Spock understood the need to hear it again with the two of them face to face, not as listening to another conversation with T'Pren. He switched to Vulcan. "She is. She is _t'hyla_."

That younger head came up and the lips parted, a huge gesture for a Vulcan. To hear she not only was chosen by him, not only a _ko-telsu_ – a wife; any female who married automatically became a wife - but Spock's life's partner, his _aduna_. And even more than _that_ , the relationship reached such depth, reached such significance, she was _t'hyla_. A _real_ wife and lover.

Not every marriage did, even with love between them. McCoy's hadn't, even in its best days. Others stayed together, built a good life together, adored each other, but never could call one another anything close, in any language.

For the first time, Spock thought of his parents in the same terms: _t'hyla_.

He raised his voice as he reached the doorway and the children. "Your meditations. I suspect Doctor McCoy will allow you to use his office."

The communication panel whistled with the old sound of a boatswain whistle. Kirk answered it.

"Captain," Uhura said. The children's heads turned sharply at the voice, someone they knew who they hadn't seen here. "We heard from the other ship. They're asking to speak with – their Mr. Spock."

"Send it here, Uhura."

Spock held the same… interest showing in the children, who poised to hear their mother's voice.

But Risteárd Imre came over the speaker and Spock refused to feel something so trivial as disappointment. Although, where _was_ Saavik? "Sir, we still haven't found the saboteur, which you know means he's still a risk. So we're asking the _Enterprise_ to keep the children for a little longer. We just don't want to bring them back to where he—"

Drugged them and shoved them into a crate.

Spock looked to Kirk, knowing what he would say. But protocols existed for a reason. "Of course they can stay. I promised them that I'd keep them safe."

"Mr. Imre?"

"I heard him, sir. Thank you, Enterprise." He signed off.

He did well, containing his excitement about speaking with the Enterprise. He did not give into the temptation of asking for the captain.

Kirk looked from the comm panel to Spock. "First Officer?"

"Yes," not knowing Jim meant was it his first officer. He came up to his children. "I will remain with you. Now, your meditations." It will help.

They stalled for one instant more, just long enough to say telepathically how much they idolized their grandmother – and your friend too, Father. They went to McCoy's office and he watched them go.

He turned around then. "Captain, we briefly discussed what we may be able to do from here regarding the issue where we find ourselves."

Kirk sat himself in the chair by the ward's desk, strain pulling at his eyes and in the small slump of his shoulders. He still made it look like he sat in his captain's chair, in command of the situation. "You said you had speculations."

"Indeed. As you heard, all searches for the saboteur aboard the Contact have proven unsuccessful."

Kirk pointed out, "We saw Ben Finney evade searches on the Enterprise. The Contact is larger."

"True. It is the lack of results from the scans that is puzzling. Therefore, I propose the Enterprise scans the Contact."

The younger Spock nodded as he thought through the suggestion. "A sound recommendation. It would eliminate the possibility of their scanners being effected."

"Correct."

"And with the use of the scope, my older self can monitor the scan results in privacy."

"The two of us performing the task," the older said, his hands once more folded in front of him, "it will increase the speed of the process."

"Logical," the younger said.

McCoy folded his arms across his chest next to Kirk. "Great. A Spock mutual admiration society."

Kirk kept his grin over that mostly to himself. Mostly. "Then we're off to the bridge."

He pushed himself to his feet and then clearly thought of something. Spock saw that gaze swiveled on to him. "We could have a problem. You should know that the news about you and the children got out to the crew. We don't know how, but it spread around the ship. We think part of it is just guesses, especially since a rumor has it that your wife is on the Contact. They couldn't know that. So, it looks pretty much like gossip with some of it hitting the mark. We kept the children here for that reason, just until we decided it was all right."

"I heard it myself," Amanda added. "Everyone is speculating on who your wife could be, even what she can be. Human or Vulcan or someone else. Dr. McCoy has nicely stayed here and set up a clinic elsewhere in case people thought of suddenly developing headaches so they can see the children."

Spock's first thought was paternal: did this endanger T'Pren, Setik, or T'Kel? He did not see how and he would not overreact. Be cautious certainly, but no more. "Curiosity is the basis of most Starfleet officers' nature. It is not surprising then to see it in this instance." He turned it around in his head further. "It appears harmless. However, as you say, let it be us who decides when to allow the children to be seen."

Amanda moved to stand next to the younger version of her son. She spoke half to him. "They will need dinner soon and it is growing restrictive in here."

She makes him acknowledge the truth about them. He will not be allowed to ignore them forever.

Spock remembered those sorts of dealings with his mother, condensed into one word: relentless.

"By then," she continued, "Sarek will hopefully be out of the healing trance." She quivered with anticipation of having her husband awake and seeing him with their grandchildren.

In a way, so did Spock: to see his much younger father with Setik and the twins. Definitely interesting.

In the meantime: "Doctor."

McCoy headed off the rest of it. "It's all right. Like I said, they're great kids. I also have a goal of imprinting as much of myself on Setik as possible."

"We will be fortunate then to return time to its rightful place."

That earned a snort.

Spock looked around, focusing on them one by one. "Interesting."

McCoy answered before anyone else. "What is?"

He lifted an eyebrow. "You do not ask if the rumor concerning my wife being aboard the _Contact_ is true. I thought your own curiosity would have you ask."

Amanda took his arm. "I don't have to. The children have said a few things that told us she's there. Don't be upset with them, they don't even know they slipped."

He pulled his hands behind his back, a gesture that seemed more natural in uniform and outside his ambassadorial robes. "Naturally, you are right. These circumstances are difficult. The children cannot be blamed for even indirectly informing you about their mother."

When he looked up, his younger self was shaking his head, perhaps as a signal.

McCoy grinned from ear to ear. "Unlike you who just directly told us that she's there."

At his confused look, Kirk threw his hands out in a shrug. "You fell for a very old trick, Spock."

His mother squeezed his arm. "As if _my_ grandchildren would let something slip like that." His face registered what he had done. "I lied, Spock. I thought I could get you to say it if you thought it was the children. You said a few things that hinted at it – like you both desire for her to come here and talk to me. That would mean she is over there. But you would work your way out of anything _you_ said, so I did it this way."

Spock closed his eyes at the thought of it. No wonder T'Pren could manipulate him; she inherited it from the best.

Of all people, the younger Spock rescued him. "I believe we have duties best served on the bridge."

Kirk headed for the door. "All right then. Let's get to work."

The younger Spock automatically began to move to his side, but stopped awkwardly at crossing his older self.

That Spock gestured for him to go ahead. "Your time, your place." He moved instead to Kirk's other side once his other self took his position.

Kirk strode down the corridor and spun around when he got in the turbolift. It meant he saw both Spocks follow him in. His eyes brightened with laughter and so did his voice. "I can't wait to get to the bridge."

Spock let his younger self say it. "You anticipate their expressions, Captain."

"You couldn't be more right, Mr. Spock." The lift doors snapped open and Kirk walked out first. With perfect timing, Spock walked out with his younger self.

Some stared, a few started getting out of their seats in total surprise, and no one could talk, at least not coherently.

"Perfect." Kirk grinned and then jerked a thumb at the science station. "Let's see what you two can find."

* * *

I swear that the McCoy bit with "and then Jim kissed or punched someone" was from the Vulcan's Forge novel, but I couldn't find it. Just know I read it – at least, I think I did.

I have a lot of episode references (and movies when it comes to Saavik) throughout this story; I'm not going to footnote them all, but if you would like to know, please just ask.

Saavik and Spock clasping McCoy's hands on their wedding day is from my story, Wedding Vows.

Someone thought I used t'hyla wrong: just wanted people to know that I do try to research everything I write. In this case, here is the full definition of t'hy'la: I double-checked with all the Vulcan language institute, dictionaries, and Gene Roddenberry's documentation for it. T'hyla is not only males. Here is the official definition: t'hy'la: friend-lover-lifelong companion, blood brother/sister; soulmate; soul-brother/sister.

Thanks!


	8. Chapter 8

USS _Enterprise_ , Deck 14

Taushan Rhinar stood at one point seven meters tall with a lean build, rather like Spock's. His short, dark brown hair had already been cut to the standard Starfleet style for men. His equally dark brown eyes stood out in stark contrast to his very white skin. It all added up to one thing:

Saavik and Spock's children gave a good description when Kirk asked who had abducted them from their school. Rhinar didn't know they had, but he expected it. Any child could describe him generally: his hair and eye color, that he was tall and white. The three Vulcans he grabbed could give more detail than that.

It didn't matter. He gave a deliberate, clumsy smile across the desk of the _Enterprise's_ Paymaster, who scowled fiercely at his computer.

"Paymaster," Rhinar commented. It sounded like an idle statement, but nothing he did was idle anymore. Everything was part of the plan. "That's an old word, isn't it?"

The other man followed the diversion like he knew his cue. "Yeah, it's from one of Earth's old navies. It comes from when they used to hand out actual money. Some things stay around."

The man looked away from his screen on that last sentence. Good. Humans weren't true multitaskers; Rhinar should know, he was human. It meant some of the officer's focus got pulled away to talk history.

Rhinar hunched his shoulders in a weak shrug. He couldn't get rid of the gravelly sound to his voice; it was biological and always there. But he had changed his speech pattern and body language to something less precise and more casual. "I don't know the stuff myself, but I heard the history buffs go on about."

He heard a lot from such people since he had sought them out, using the same shy personality act he used right now with the _Enterprise_ officer. He specifically sought out enthusiasts of this ship and its era, both inside Starfleet and out: people happy to share their collections of uniform patterns, old technology schematics, and dummy copies of documents. They unknowingly gave him, in bits and pieces, what he needed to pull off his plan here, thinking he was just another _Enterprise_ 1701 fan like them.

The other man's green eyes narrowed once more at his screen, but he did glance away again. "I had to ask the history department here to find out what paymaster meant." He laughed. "She said, think about how people will be going on about us someday."

Rhinar pushed the distraction a fraction more. "Like that future ship that's supposed to be out there."

The man actually swiveled his chair around and nearly came out of his seat. "Yes, exactly! I want to see that ship _badly_. I keep thinking — sorry, I went off on a tangent. Anyway, your file is here."

Of course it was. Rhinar loaded it himself, making it appear like a Fleet transmission from Vulcan's Deep Space Station V-2, and dating it for the same day Sarek arrived. He naturally made it vastly different from his real, civilian one at the 40 Eridani-A Shipyards.

"But it never got applied to the system, that's the problem."

Because Rhinar knew it would be better if his file came into the _Enterprise_ computers from a legitimate source than if he applied it. If someone like Spock or Scott ever checked, they would notice a faked source.

The Paymaster leaned closer to the workstation and ran a tanned hand through brown hair. "That is really strange."

Rhinar waited. He wanted to be out of here by now, and he didn't want to be something _interesting_ that made the other officer think about him, remember him, and mention him to other people.

"I got it. They attached it to the Vulcan party's dossier, so your file didn't get applied separately. You're all set up and your cabin is really yours now. No one will come in like this morning and think you're trespassing there."

That had been the lie Rhinar told when the Paymaster asked where he had been staying the last couple of days. _And I attached my record to the Vulcan party's files. I began to think you would never see it._

"Still deck four, right?" he asked for the sake of cementing his awkward persona more.

"Yeah, that's it. Cabin 3B 94. I put your real arrival date in there so you get credit for your time, instead of you looking like you got in today."

 _I did arrive today_. But he needed to appear like any other member of the crew, not someone who appeared the same day a kidnapper and saboteur from the 24th century arrived.

The Paymaster chuckled. "Of course, where would you come from if you got in now? The crew from the future?"

Rhinar weakly laughed too. "Yeah, don't think there's a chance of that. Thanks, and – uh, I hope you get to see the other ship. Or that somebody does, right?"

The other man gave a wide grin. "It's all I can think and talk about."

Good.

He turned out of the office, toolkit in hand, and waved thanks over his shoulder. He headed down the corridor with an authentic, official record in the system. His new appearance of being a Starfleet officer came complete with his equally new name of Lieutenant William Hall, and a good, steady, but truly boring career file. The crew would think it was no wonder they didn't remember him; he simply didn't stand out in any way. Added to it was his picking an Engineering uniform. That not only covered Scott's large department and Security, it included other sections like Support and Communications. Hundreds of people to remember and the crew basically knew their own divisions, the people they worked with most, and their close friends.

Or someone noticeable. William Hall never was that.

The searches for him had stopped. Not on the _Contact_ , but on the _Enterprise_. They ran their scans, found nothing, and ended it right there. Everyone would insist he was on the other ship, because they never discovered he came over at the same time as their landing parties. Just not exactly with them.

Every probability calculation he had run before he launched his plan had turned out correct. _Granted, so far_. Kirk and Spock – either Spock – would focus on their actual crew returning from the _Contact_ , and not see what he had done. Then their scans. Then they made their conclusion. It was outside the scope of their thinking to see how he had accomplished avoiding them. Eighty-four years outside of it.

Saavik, Ambassador Spock, and her crew were closer on his heels. Her mistake was trusting the same theory that when the _Enterprise_ said he hadn't beamed over, then he hadn't. She no doubt tore her ship apart to find him and the stranglehold he held over the _Contact._ He didn't have that much time before everyone figured out where he was at least.

But time enough.

A crewwoman plowed into him as he turned a corner. A small black band fell from the utility belt under his shirt to the deck. He snatched at it, but she got to it first.

Her deep auburn hair, piled high on her head, hid her face as she bent down to pick up the object. "I am so sorry! I couldn't see you until it was too late. You'd think they would have figured out a way to keep that from happening by the twenty third century."

The revealed face was light and decently pretty. Rhinar could not care less one way or the other right now. She turned over the little device back and forth in her hand. "This is interesting. I don't think I've seen anything like it before. What is it?"

Her voice had a natural lilt that he thought came from a country close to Scott's native land. Her curiosity caused it to go up a level. His own voice tended to do that. Someone else might find it attractive, but he only wanted her to go, right now.

He didn't force a smile this time. He forced nervousness. "I got it back at V-2. You know, the Deep Space Station? The Vulcans made it," he lied. "The person who showed it to me said they're developing it to work with their minds' electrical impulses. I don't know how. Actually," he grimaced and hunched his shoulders as if she figured out he's lying, "he didn't know any more than I do. It's just what he guessed."

The lilt dropped to a sharp note. "And he stole it?"

"No, it was made wrong. They were going to recycle it, so he asked if he could at least check out their smaller circuitry scale. He was done with it, so I asked him if I could have it next."

She went back to flipping it over to get a better look at it. "It is interesting."

Rhinar deftly plucked it from her hand and now forced a smile when she looked up stunned at what he did. "For something that's broken."

Her annoyance slipped away as she pointed out he still might find something in the damaged, small device that Starfleet could use. After all, new discoveries sometimes started out in situations like these.

Just as Rhinar was about to excuse himself and get out of there, she took note of his red uniform shirt and emblem: the same as hers. "I don't think we ever met." She held out a hand. "I've been rude. Ensign Kate Aisling. What department are you in?"

 _You need to stop asking questions and leave. For your own sake_. He calmly counted the small amount of people in the corridor: eight. Eight witnesses.

As if he had thought of none of this, Rhinar glanced down at his own hand and added a fidget to it before he dragged it down his shirt like it was clammy. He finally took hers limply. "Yeah, well, I wasn't any better. What department are you?"

 _Be smart, Ensign Kate Aisling. Answer me and then leave. You're making it necessary for me to kill you_. He didn't want to do that; it'd cause problems. A starship was a big place, but not so big that her disappearance wouldn't be noted.

People knew the _Contact_ had a criminal that might have transported over. If Aisling disappeared or her body was found, then Kirk, Saavik, the Spocks, everyone would know he was on the _Enterprise_. That brought their focus down on him early and he couldn't hide from that. So far, his avoiding the scans, his forged record, and this act of being an easily forgettable nothing bought him the time to get his real weapons into place. He couldn't stand up against a full manhunt without them.

But if this woman didn't stop questioning him, the risk of killing her and being exposed early became smaller than the risk of her telling someone she knew in his so called department about him and his interesting device. Because if the latter happened, he'd be uncovered as a fraud and again the manhunt came down on him before he was prepared.

It came down to which gave a smaller risk of early exposure: killing her or letting her talk.

She answered, "Engineering Circuit Bay, Deck 11, Section A3. Come by and I'll introduce to everyone. In fact, we saw Ambassador Sarek and his wife when Captain Kirk gave them a tour."

"You're doing better than me. I came over from V-2 the same time they came up from Vulcan, and I didn't see them." He ducked his head as he gave a little nervous laugh.

"You might still get your chance," she said, not realizing he hadn't given his department. She leaned in like conspirators over stolen information. "You might even see the secret grandchildren."

 _Oh, I will see them. I have seen them._ "I doubt I'll see any of them. But …I hate to say it, but I should go now." He held up the old style padd. "I got to take care of this, and-."

"Don't worry about it. I got to go too. Have a good rest of your shift. Bye." She disappeared around the corner and suddenly popped her head back. "Welcome to the _Enterprise_!"

He waved a bit and dropped his façade once she was truly gone. He flipped the small, black band over in his palm and thought about going to his new cabin to secure it. He decided on no; he might need it to trigger his natural abilities to hide from any new scans. He almost secured it inside the toolkit, which he should have done already, but liked having it where he could grab it, use it, and be off their scans in a few seconds. He put the device back on the utility belt under his uniform shirt.

He imagined he could feel the weight of Saavik searching for him on the _Contact_. She would figure it out soon.

It will be too late by then, Captain. I will be ready for you.

Rhinar reached Stores Division and held out different paperwork than what he gave the Paymaster. "Hi. Got a requisition for force field emitters." He gave the Brazilian woman a bland smile, and kept his gaze on the padd instead of making eye contact.

She went over the requisition order. "Why do they need these?"

He half-heartedly shrugged, putting his toolkit on the deck, and mumbled that they mentioned checking the ones in the brig. "Watch me not need them after all."

He saw her paying a lot of attention to the forms. He knew he had the signature right – thanks again to the document copies from the history buffs – and he had used one of Scott's junior officers: someone who could sign these, but not so high level that it would draw attention.

But Rhinar couldn't check with the signing officer to have him authorize the forms, so he used his earlier diversion once more. _He_ had started all the talk about the _Contact_ , Spock, the children, Saavik – although not by name – all of it. He did it for two reasons: this was the first. Gossip kept people busy, busy distracted them a bit, but not enough that Kirk threatened disciplinary actions. "Maybe they're about this thing with the other crew and ship? Like a safety measure." He leaned forward secretively. "Do you think that's true? The whole future thing? I heard they even got 2 kids from there."

It worked again: she looked up from the padd. "That's what everyone says, although I heard it's 3 kids. And that they're Mr. Spock's. Can you believe it? They got them holed up in Sickbay. Looks like it's true based on the captain raging over who first told it."

 _Thank you for confirming the children are contained._ That was the second reason he'd leaked the information on the _Contact_ and Spock's family: he used the _Enterprise_ crew as a communication chain. Rhinar couldn't be everywhere and he dare not get near the children until he was ready. Later, he'd hack into Uhura's network to hear what was happening, but not yet. Too much to do first, and, again, it risked early exposure.

So for now, the crew gave him what he needed to know.

He'd counted on their curiosity, just as he had with McCoy and his people bringing Setik and his sisters here once someone found them drugged in a crate. If they hadn't, Rhinar had a backup plan to get them on the _Enterprise_ , but thankfully he hadn't needed it. It would have taken more time.

"So are we on course for Babel," Rhinar asked the woman, "or are we stopping here until they figure this out?"

"We're still on course and that other ship is matching us. Not that you can see them. Apparently they're below us and they went dark. Only McCoy is with them. Sorry, I meant he's with the children. Well, the captain and the ambassador's wife is in there too." Someone else came up with their own requisition orders, so she quickly signed off on his and brought out what he wanted. "Good luck with the emitters. Let me know if you need to put them back in stock."

Perfect.

So the children stayed in Sickbay and only McCoy stayed with them regularly. Hopefully, when it came time to take the children again, the doctor would be the only one there. Kirk would be tough to kill; he'd have to be caught off-guard. Lady Amanda…

If he killed Amanda when he kidnapped Setik and the twins again, what would that do to his plans for Sarek? Cement them? Damage them? Rhinar decided he would be better off taking her with the children and have that extra hostage, if she was there when he attacked.

He avoided the lifts near Sickbay to be safe and stepped into one at the other end of the corridor. "Deck 8."

He pretended to be reading his padd as he got out, stopping to the side of the corridor under a white mechanical component on a yellow panel. He waited for the passageway to clear and then headed for the first power shaft he needed. He pulled the deck schematics from his memory; he couldn't risk having them in his hand where someone might see and question why an engineer didn't know the layout.

He took the field emitters and laid each one on a step inside the diagonal tube. He started climbing in himself when he heard a man's voice ask, "What are you doing?"

Rhinar made sure to step out with a trident scanner; it added to his authenticity. "They got me checking the relays in several places. I only just started, but things look good so far. Regular maintenance, I guess."

The other man in a blue uniform looked him up and down. Rhinar tensed. "Have I seen you around? I feel like we met before, but I can't remember. Probably not our departments." He gestured between the color of his shirt and the red of Rhinar's.

So the other crewman was only curious. Rhinar would give him some leeway, as he had with the woman earlier.

 _Some_ leeway.

He kept up his act. "I don't think so. Just came on awhile back and," he gave an embarrassed little shrug, "I'm not good with people, so I just stay to myself." He patted the doorway to the access tube. "And the machines."

Thankfully, the other man being in Sciences or Medical meant he wouldn't try to place him amongst the engineers, as the crewwoman almost had. "That makes sense. But if you ever change your mind, we got good people here. Very friendly. What's your name?"

Weak smile: "Bill Hall."

"Abraham Rye." Rhinar feebly and quickly shook the offered hand. Rye suddenly looked up inside the tube and Rhinar hurriedly spoke.

"Do you know about this other ship? Are they going to tell us anything about it?"

Rye turned away from the tube. "I wish. Imagine the technology they got over there."

I don't need to. It's why I brought it here.

"You in Medical, Rye? Has the Vulcan ambassador seen these kids yet?"

"No, I'm in Life Sciences, Botany Section. But I think the ambassador is still asleep."

"Asleep?" That surprise was the first strong note in Rhinar's voice since he got on the _Enterprise_. It was the first time he used his own instead of weak William Hall's.

"Yeah, a friend of mine is a nurse. She said he's sleeping after his surgery, getting his strength back. Seems like a long time to sleep, but no one looks worried. In fact-" Rye took a step closer out of excitement. "She said that Spock came over from that ship. A Spock from the _future_. Imagine what he's seen! What discoveries they've made! I mean, what kind of people are there?! They could be lifeforms we don't even know yet!"

He caught himself. "Listen to me go on and on. I started with saying that this older Spock has apparently seen his father and is okay with him sleeping. So, there you go. You a fan of the ambassador's?"

 _Which one?_ "I think it just happens to you when you work at V-2."

Abraham laughed and started walking away. "I'll get going. Don't want you to get in trouble for talking instead of working, uh…" Rye struggled to remember the name.

Rhinar gave a wave instead of answering; it didn't matter anyway.

Asleep.

He _needed_ Sarek. In fact, all of this was _for_ Sarek: the time travel, the children, the _Contact_ , the _Enterprise_ , and each stage of the attack. The ambassador had to be awake by the time he launched his offensive.

Rhinar stayed focused. He wouldn't be one of the people he manipulated. History recorded Sarek of Vulcan awake and well for the Coridan vote, and, according to that nurse, this sleep was part of his surgery. So nothing from the _Contact_ coming back in time had caused it.

Sarek would be there when it was time. And an older Spock being aboard made no difference one way or the other.

Rhinar grabbed the red handle on either side of the tube and climbed back up. He put the trident scanner on top of the force field emitters and then turned around inside the power shaft. He banged his knuckles of his right hand and his left knee in the tight space. He held back a filthy curse as he put the broken skin on his hand to his mouth. He knew to expect cramp quarters but this!

In his time, it was vastly different. They were called Jefferies Tubes after a great Starfleet designer who created the _Constitution_ class and so much more. People could move more easily in the modern day tubes. Rhinar had been through at least sixty percent of the _Contact_ 's—

And never hurt myself once!

He blew out a hard breath. He felt the stress, that was all. He carried a heavy responsibility; it created a substantial pressure. What he would not do was let it control him. He had a lot more work and then he would match himself against some truly brilliant minds. But he had studied them for years; he knew their mindsets and their weaknesses. They knew nothing about him.

It would work. He would win. He might die and he might kill them all, but even then, he would win.

And look how far he had come already.

So. Back to work.

Rhinar didn't want his feet to be seen by anyone going by, but he needed to set one of the emitters close to the front of the tube. When he activated it, it couldn't be blocked by the tunnel. It was a delicate balance: close enough to the mouth so it worked in the corridor, but not so close that it could be seen by someone walking by. Too many in the crew would know with one glance that it shouldn't be there.

He checked the code on the relay cable on his right: GNDN 329. _Good_.

Rhinar twisted at his shoulders to look up the power shaft. He could make out the entrance to the intersection. The immediate challenge was to secure the force field emitter at the mouth of the tube, then run its connectors to the source point near the corridor junction. It would be so much easier if he could connect to that emergency emitter node in the hallway, but then everyone would know he built a force field.

He risked little in actually attaching to the power; the unit was off and the jumpers wouldn't draw until he activated his force field. Once he did that, a 'hiccup' for each emitter _would_ show in the readings as the new connector cut in.

But again, _it's too late then_ , _Kirk_.

Time to get moving.

When he finished the first one, he packed up everything in the shaft and crawled out, leaving it all on the steps for a minute. He stretched to take out the kinks in his back and neck. Somebody came out of auxiliary control and gave Rhinar a polite nod as a hello.

He did the same and then looked back the way they came.

He smiled for real this time.

* * *

Some notes:

"New" departments and positions come from episode references & naval history which _Trek_ likes to use, so I hope you feel it's believable.

The deck numbers listed here (and in future chapters) are correct. Vulcan does have a deep space station, but I did make up the name using the TOS deep space station naming convention.

You may already know this: the GNDN code is an inside-joke with Star Trek TOS people. GNDN means 'Goes nowhere, does nothing'." Out of respect and love for Gene's team, DS9 made sure to have one clearly in sight for "Trials and Tribble-ations".

I made a mistake with Sarek's healing sleep: I thought Spock used it in Season 1. It's late in Season 2, after _Babel_ , and Chapel doesn't know about it in that episode. So I'm cleaning up past references and will carefully handle Sarek waking up in the next chapter. Sorry! I can't believe I double-checked everything but left that as an assumption!

While I'm talking, I need to give a BIG thank you to the techies! I don't know as much as you do, but you got me to where I need to be. Special thanks to ryo80 for letting me use his starship artwork for Saavik's _Contact_ in my _Journey Back to Babel_ cover art. And equal special thanks to Dave, the TOS expert on . He not only gave me facts, he discussed scenarios with me. Thank you, Dave!

Having said that big mouthful, please know that things that happen in the story with the transporters, various other equipment, the ships, etc. come from and are inspired by canon and double-checked with the techies. I want to be as professional as I can for you, the reader.

Now I hopefully never have to break up the story with anymore notes again! :)


	9. Chapter 9

USS _Enterprise_ , Sickbay

Sarek's eyes opened and his mouth drew in a large breath. He held out a hand, searching the air. "Amanda."

She grabbed it. The feeling of her warm skin trickled up his arm and he held tight. His upper body had been exposed to the cool air in Sickbay, so even with his blue and black patient garb, he had caught a chill, especially in his hands, forearms, and face. Although that was not the only reason why he held his wife's hand. That motivation was strictly personal.

 _I should have tucked your hands under the blanket_ , Amanda thought. She tried using her own to cover his, but hers were so small in comparison.

 _Elegant_ , he automatically thought about them.

 _Strong_ , she replied about his. But she could feel his consciousness begin to seriously struggle. She quickly asked in Vulcan, "Do you need pain as a focus?"

Only the remaining trauma from his heart attacks and surgery had required healing. He might have let it happen at a usual pace, but the Coridan vote was close and he could not afford to be fragile on his feet.

So he was not deep enough in the trance that he needed pain to leave it, but he needed her. As always. He found her eyes in that calm, beautiful face. "Do not be drawn in."

Sarek heard someone moving and his son's voice asked if Amanda needed him to take her place. She told him no, but his father caught a flash of blue out of the corner of his eye as Spock drew closer anyway and hovered.

The physical contact with Amanda sent their bond rushing through Sarek like the natural embrace of a desert breeze. Except she appeared out of reach, with his still being under the healing trance, with her mental presence at the top of a pit and him at the bottom. She made their union and her mind into a secured point, anchored in reality, and then reached out to him.

He grabbed that lifeline and she became his focus to consciousness. He pulled against the hold the trance retained on his mind, and strained for her until the healing sleep's grip snapped like a tendril.

He still lay in his hospital bed, of course. Amanda moved to sit right by his side, leaning down and smiling.

"I'm so happy you're awake." She found his hand again. "You really are better now."

He felt her two fingers lie on his. He did nothing more than touch hers in return and bask in the bounding light coming from her.

Behind it, the hurt from his not telling her about his heart attacks still lingered. They had started soothing that wound before he went to sleep, as well as the rift between he and Spock. A small start, but nevertheless a new beginning.

His relationships needed so much healing.

That lingering shadow could not stand up to Amanda's light. "You've been missing so much, Sarek. I couldn't wait for you to wake up. You heard everything, of course, but you couldn't afford to take your mind away from the healing trance to appreciate it." She leaned closer so their sides pressed together and he felt the warmth of her breath. "Sarek, you're a grandfather. And we have a daughter."

The thrill and joy bubbled up through her presence into his as he blinked over what she said. _Oh, Sarek! Everything we wanted! And wait, wait until you see our son_!

Grandfather… daughter… and Spock… It burst its way from his subconscious.

Sarek looked at Amanda, without looking _at_ her, as everything consciously came to him from where it had run like background music in his mind. His wife could tell when the overall events fell into place, because her smile and mental presence warmed and grew even lovelier.

If such a thing is possible.

Amanda still held his hand and she squeezed it. _Flatterer_. "Are you ready to see them for yourself? They've been counting down the seconds for you to wake up as much as I have."

"Ambassador? I thought I heard you awake. Hold on." McCoy suddenly came into his line of vision and a Feinberger whirred. He didn't move Amanda out of his way, so she politely offered. "You can stay where you are, ma'am. You're fine."

Sarek had just found out he was a grandfather and father-in-law. He wanted to get out of bed. "You will find I am equally well, Doctor. So if I may?"

"I'll give it to you Vulcans. When you get some rest, you work some miracles." McCoy ran a few more scans, and a young male voice asked if everything was all right.

His grandson. That was _his_ grandson.

Sarek told himself not to look, that his first sight of his eldest grandchild should be when he was on his feet, strong, a _grandfather_. The way _his_ grandfathers had always appeared: powerful enough to carry Mount Seleya on their shoulders and with all the knowledge a grandson could ever need.

But Sarek's head turned on its own volition. Fate, however, appeared determined to hold him to his first thought because he couldn't see the boy. The small wall next to his head and the other medical bed blocked his view, except for the edge of a tunic. Sarek could find no sign of the girls either.

McCoy answered the child that everything was fine.

Allow me to leave this bed, Doctor.

Amanda heard the thought and kept him from saying it out loud by squeezing his hand again. _I know. I'm impatient myself._

"Excellent!" McCoy looked down at Sarek. "You are officially released from Sickbay, Ambassador. Let me get out of your way."

That left Amanda still at Sarek's side. She had to let go of his hand if he was to get to his feet and she moved to the end of the bed out of his way. Her eyes gleamed as he sat up and took a moment before he swung his feet over. He stepped on to the cool floor and straightened to his full height.

Sound. He had not felt sound in at least two years. The cold flooring on his bare feet didn't take away from the feeling.

Sound and whole once more.

He caught sight of Kirk in the ward's doorway, standing next to the doctor in his short-sleeved, medical tunic. The uniforms brought him sharply back to duty. He represented Vulcan, his people. If his responsibilities required him, he would first seize what moments he could here.

Amanda must have recognized his look. "Sarek, don't ask for Siavann's report, not yet."

"As you wish." She wouldn't tell him to wait if it was critical. "Captain, my apologies. How may I be of service in this crisis?"

Kirk gave a small wave. "Nothing at the moment, Ambassador. The other ship is doing the bulk of the work right now, as much as we wish we could do more. But I'm waiting on someone while McCoy and I keep Sickbay – private. Until then." He smiled, maybe in understanding. "We have a minute or two."

 _So little._

A part of Sarek wished for privacy, but he owed these men his life. He must respect they felt a need to be here.

It could not take away from what was about to happen.

He looked for them. And they were there. The children rushed from around the room to cluster near him, quickly greeting him and saying they were pleased to see him awake.

At first, Sarek found himself… staring. No words, no clear thoughts came to his mind. He could only look at them and… absorb them. His _grandchildren_. Stolen from the future where they lived as an everyday part of his life.

Amanda's hand slipped inside his arm. "I know." _They're so beautiful_.

They were. Words could not explain it.

Words couldn't equal his thoughts and instincts either when he remembered they had been attacked. He knew McCoy had been treating them, however, hearing it for himself became a priority. "You are well? You have no ill effects from your capture this morning?"

All three heads emphatically shook themselves _No_ and three voices bombarded him with explanations. Those bright, bright faces looking up at him, certain whatever he said and did would be the perfect thing. Because he was Grandfather, strong enough to shoulder Mount Seleya and with more than enough wisdom for three grandchildren.

May that be so.

The doctor interrupted this with a simple, "They're fine, Ambassador. Three healthy young Vulcans."

Sarek unconsciously drew closer to the children. "And the search for the man who abducted them?"

His son replied. "We have confirmed he is not on the _Enterprise_ , which is why they remain here. However, he still eludes the _Contact_ crew."

Sarek nodded in understanding as he thought of what the children's mother and father must be thinking with that attacker at large, still a threat.

Seleya was a heavy weight, after all.

The children were safe here, he reminded himself. The ship was clear and people surrounded them who would do anything to protect them. He himself was quite capable of logically and efficiently defending them by all means at his hands.

 _All_ means.

"Father."

Sarek's head swung immediately to the archway. This was him, his son, seized from the years ahead with the children.

Sarek wanted suddenly to be dressed in his own clothes, not in this patient's garb and bare feet. He wanted to meet his son, this… new equal, in exactly that way. Something in how Spock talked and his expression almost demanded it.

But in the end, it was his son and not the clothes that made this meeting.

As this older Spock came towards him, Sarek could see all the same rebellion behind the maturity. That same mutiny that would _go_ when his father said _don't go_ ; that refused to answer when Sarek asked; that would do something simply because he was told not to do it. That same core used to hurt his father, but that also made him admire and love his strong son.

It was still there, it'd always be there, so it did not surprise him. What did was the look of… connection between them. Spock would always be Spock as Sarek would always be Sarek, and it seemed they had a… bond.

"I waited for you to awake rather than perform this separately for you and Mother." His son placed a hand almost ceremoniously on Setik's shoulder before he met Sarek's eyes. "I did this first when you arrived home to Vulcan and I met you at your arrival point, carrying Setik as a newborn. I did this again when my daughters were born and you waited there the entire time, despite how long the delivery lasted. In fact, I was away and the labor became critical. You handled all emergencies, never leaving my wife, and found transportation so I arrived home in time. The children's births gave me understanding for both the traditional words and your advice on being a husband and father."

Amanda cried a few happy tears already while Sarek wondered what he could have said in that advice. He couldn't imagine, but Seleya's weight became easier to carry.

"However," Spock continued, "those times have not happened for you and an accident in time should not deprive you of that moment, not when we are all here. Therefore, I want to say to you," he reached for the twins where they stood around their grandparents, "Father, Mother, thy House continues."

Sarek laid a hand on each dark head and then embraced them. The touch brought that unique sense of each them symbolized by their secret/ _ahtía_ name and protected behind their common name. Each automatically linked themselves to him.

When he got to the oldest twin, his hand paused over her head at her name. His mother's name. T'Kel. She had been the first female in two generations; now her great-granddaughter, the first girl in four, had her name.

Girls, Sarek! Amanda exclaimed. Not just one after all this time, but two! And not just two girls, but identical twins! The family must be beside themselves.

Young T'Kel placed a hand on her chest. "I have to say more," and gave her full name. Meaning she gave the female surname from her mother and the male surname from Spock, which was normal. But…

His mother's surname added to it. _And_ Amanda's. Each child carried them as part of the family names when they ordinarily wouldn't.

The older Spock nodded even without them saying anything. "Crediting our daughters to Grandmother and Mother my wife's idea. So much so, we retroactively changed Setik's family name to include them as well."

Sarek regarded his son and added weight to his next words. "What your wife has done in naming the children, it is a gift. We are fortunate for her."

Spock's eyes grew distant as he clearly thought about his consort. "We are, Father. However, as T'Kel said, there is more."

Sarek tried deciding if he should say something or wait when a clear, light voice announced, "I can tell you, Grandfather."

That was how he learned his oldest granddaughter wanted to create starships, taking the family on their adventures; how his grandson wanted to be a healer, one Amanda swore would be as strong as Sorel and McCoy said would be the best in Starfleet. And how T'Pren… T'Pren would follow him, safeguarding and carrying forward generations of the family's work.

She could change her mind as Spock had, but if not…

Sarek refused favoritism, and he could not miss the heavy stares from his son and wife, as well as the doctor and captain. He spoke to all three children, "If these remain your goals, you will do honor to each of these services. You will do honor to any service."

The older Spock merely watched calmly, so Sarek dared to venture, "How do you find fatherhood?"

He waited, braced for rebuke or... that connection.

"I find it," his son's expression cleared from the myriad of answering thoughts the question had brought, "illogical."

 _Connection_.

Amanda's smile dipped at the corners. "We're still missing that one person to make this perfect."

Sarek agreed. His wife had been right; knowing his daughter existed was no longer enough. He wanted to see her.

The older Spock saved them from being mired in it. "Father, we have issues to address. The other ambassadors here are rightfully concerned over the delay. They will clearly wish to speak with you and you should expect questions on the children, myself, and the _Contact_."

 _My responsibilities already call me away._ Sarek set into his work. "I will take a moment to prepare and then will speak with them. However, you appear to have another issue?"

"The _Contact_ also carries diplomatic parties whose mission has been interrupted with the sabotage."

"Where you also on course for Babel? If you can answer."

"I can and we were. However, this situation has its own fears for them. They have lives in their own time they do not wish to lose."

"Yes, of course." Sarek's eyes dropped to the children. He had been given a reminder: this stolen time was not a gift for everyone. It was a threat. Hadn't he just thought moments ago of what he would do to defend his grandchildren from their abductor? The others on Spock's ship felt the same about their homes.

"They complain of what they see as doing nothing regarding the state of affairs. I had a thought. Perhaps if you spoke with them as well?"

Sarek's mind went through the strategy and he unthinkingly folded his hands in front of him, the way his granddaughter had copied when she told him of the path she followed. He idly noted that with the family returning to duty, Setik took his formal place as first born at his father's side.

Sarek agreed with Spock. "To placate them through the unexpected action. It will give them much to discuss and consider, and therefore serves as a distraction. A sound idea."

He made preparations in his head when he heard a girl's voice. "Grandfather?"

T'Pren took a step forward. "May I come with you and Father as part of my training? I could learn what you just said."

Sarek knew what the answer had to be, so he handed the responsibility to where it should be: Spock. "You are her father."

He got a dark look before his son turned to the girl. "Under normal circumstances, I would allow it. However, T'Pren, I do not wish you to be with the ambassadors and their aides when you are a subject of discussion."

 _A volatile part of the discussion_.

"While the speech is general, the ensuing talks are not. Remain here with your brother and sister."

T'Pren didn't like it, which was why Sarek had Spock tell her. He was the grandfather; when a parent was at hand to discipline and say _No_ , he got to be the one who did pleasant things, such as telling his son:

"I am reminded of a promise to the children. Would you arrange it so they may speak to their mother?"

Spock gave his son and his daughters a look of understanding. "Your mother and I have already discussed this. As soon as Sarek speaks with the diplomats on the _Contact,_ she will create free time that is strictly for you."

Three looks of hero worship landed on Sarek for being the seeming orchestrator of something they wanted all day. He gazed evenly at both versions of his son, well aware the older one had actually brought it about.

Three small dark heads pushed together, plotting. With a resigned breath, Spock pointed out what he must. "You remember that, your mother is fully engaged by her work. Her free time is not unlimited."

They popped up like prairie dogs, or Vulcan _tiottki_ , telling him they understood, before they huddled again, only to shoot back up.

"Will you stay with us, Father?" Setik asked.

"If you wish."

They bunched together once more. This time, the adults could catch snatches of their discussion that focused on everything they had to tell Mother so they didn't miss one thing.

"Sarek, I'll work from here," Amanda offered, "unless you need me. I can keep Doctor McCoy company or free him if he needs to be somewhere else."

The doctor gave a bow of his head. "I'm honored, ma'am. Take any of the desks and computers. In fact, you can have the whole office if you need it. And I'm returning the offer to stay here for you if you ever need to go."

She nodded back before grabbing her husband's attention as well as both Spocks with a gleam. "I know I have to leave when their mother calls, so I'm sparing you the lecture. And I dare you to say you weren't going to give one."

McCoy put his hands behind his back. "While we're talking about leaving the room, maybe it's time to let the kids leave Sickbay. Give them a more personal space to talk to their mom. They can come back here if you want, but let's give them a break. What do you say, Jim?"

The three children had broken from their huddle as soon as he said they might leave Sickbay. Kirk rubbed at his lip before leaving it up to the older Spock with a smirk playing around his mouth. "You _are_ the father."

Spock saw the clear entreaty in each pair of young eyes fixated on him. "I am, which is why my first thought is where would we take them?"

"You may use my cabin."

Even Sarek, awake for only a limited time, knew that statement coming from the younger Spock was astounding. Under everyone's stares, including the children, he crossed forward as he walked towards his older self. "It is, in a way, your cabin as well. It will allow you privacy, and as it is a short distance down the corridor, it provides limited encounters with the crew. The latter being something you noted earlier as desirable. In the same vein, Captain, the limited exposure will still allow the crew to ease their curiosity somewhat. It leads on both sides for the children to later encounter the ship at large."

"Logical," Kirk commended. "All of it, except I bet it'll make the crew even more curious. But…" He lifted his shoulders a bit and dropped them. "I'm still bowing to their father. You know better."

"I agree with the suggestion. The cabin will work well for the reasons stated." It was most likely illogical to thank a younger version of himself, but Spock did dip his head to the younger, who returned it.

 _Or perhaps_ , Sarek speculated, _it is logical to encourage your younger self in his actions showing any acceptance of his future._

They began to leave when Kirk held up a hand and joined them in the center of the ward. "Spock," he said to the older, "when you're done with the diplomats, it's time we spoke with the _Contact_ , maybe even have them come here. No one believes this saboteur won't strike again. We have the children safe, but there's more we can do. I want whatever preparations we can make ready by Babel."

Spock agreed. "An excellent idea. The _Contact_ has given me their latest update and are meeting themselves. I will speak with their captain on their beaming over as well. There will be issues, of course, on how they may do so without violating the future."

Kirk's mouth parted in surprise. So did a couple others. "I thought you were their captain."

The older Spock looked at him curiously and then nodded in understanding. "You refer to my first transmission. I only, so to speak, borrowed the chair from its rightful owner."

"And this captain was all right with that?"

"We have a good working relationship."

A small noise came from behind them. The older Spock got three, rounded stares from his children; he lifted an eyebrow in return. "You disagree?"

Varying looks of utter filial exasperation answered him.

"Sarek?" Amanda's voice had him turn back to her. She held out two fingers and he touched them.

Love, happiness, and still leftover hurt over his not telling her about his heart attacks flowed from her. That he risked his life and kept it from her, his bondmate and wife.

When they lingered, the two Spocks moved away and so did Kirk and McCoy. The children looked to their father who beckoned them over, but a gesture from Amanda asked that they remain there.

She glanced to the grandchildren before returning to her husband, and there it was: the sparkling humor shining at him from her eyes. _I do accept the peace offering_.

He kissed her fingers with his, remaining there as she took in every thought and feeling he had for her, before he headed out the archway.

Kirk got right to business. "We discussed it, Ambassador, and both of the Spocks will go with you. You'll need the older one to help set up your broadcast to the _Contact_ , which you'll give from the bridge. My first officer can then tell me what happened with the diplomats on this ship. Agreed?"

"Agreed, Captain. I will first go to my cabin and contact my aides."

"Of course. I'm headed for the bridge myself. I'll see you up there." Kirk didn't bother wishing Vulcans good luck, but strode out the door which shut behind him.

Sarek saw the elder Spock standing patiently as he started for his cabin. That older version of his son walked by his side, and on the other, the younger one did too.

Seleya's weight was nothing but a feather.

"Sarek!" It was as if Gav, the Tellarite ambassador, had never died. Not with the way the late diplomat's junior shoved himself forcefully into the Vulcan. "You are the reason for this!"

Kirk had given them the largest conference room; it still didn't have nearly enough seats for the thirty-one ambassadors and the two Spocks, but it didn't matter. Very few took advantage of the chairs anyway.

"Ambassador Trorv," Sarek replied. His aides had informed him that Tellar had sent orders promoting the junior to a full envoy, at least temporarily, in light of Gav's murder. "I have neither orchestrated nor assisted in creating this situation."

"But you are the center of it! These supposed grandchildren and this copy of your son!"

"I am not a copy," the older Spock interceded from where he stood by the room's far wall. "We are, in fact, the same person."

"He is," the younger Spock, standing next to him, smoothly picked up, "merely at a later age."

Trorv's eyes bounced back and forth between them until he practically shook his head to clear it. He took a step and jabbed a finger hard at them. "Do not play games, Vulcan!"

Sarek imagined both Spocks fought against lifting an eyebrow. He welcomed the younger version of his son putting aside his aversion to anything having to do with his future, for at least this meeting. To see the two of them working in harmony this way… working with _him_ this way…

It made Sarek all the more whole.

But he was pleased they left those eyebrows down. They could not afford to antagonize Trorv or anyone else in such a way. The events and what he'd have to insist on would do that on their own.

Kirk planned his strategizing session to put his preparations in place. This was Sarek's.

"We do not play games, Ambassador Trorv." Continued recognition of his new station mollified the Tellarite somewhat. "Nor do I dispute your earlier point. I am as well aware as each of you on how this situation focuses on my family. I equally believe the timing with the Babel mission is not a coincidence."

" _Your_ family!"

"I agreed it is so."

Trorv moved back slowly to stand in front of him, glaring. Sarek wondered if he planned to attack as the late Gav had done yesterday and if he was any better at it than Gav had been.

"This ship," the Tellarite snarled, "is it real?"

"I have not seen it. However, _Enterprise_ officers have investigated it, my son at his older age comes from there, and both ages have been in contact with it."

Trorv's jaw worked as if he chewed on the words. "And these children. Do they exist or are they chatter made by crewmen over their drinks and meals?"

"They exist."

"Let us see them."

The older Spock jumped in immediately. "For what purpose?"

The Tellarite swung on him. "To prove your statement is true!"

Sarek merely appeared curious, despite the insult. "You accuse me of lying."

Trorv was larger and darker than his predecessor. He was also less experienced, was still smaller than Sarek, whom he had seen throw Gav into a wall, and had the intelligence to back off. "Or you are being manipulated with the rest of us."

"Sarek." Ambassador Rayfh of Earth stood up. He smoothed his blond hair and then ran the same hand down his blue jumpsuit with its white piping. Buying time. "We all got up this morning to find out you were in Sickbay following some surgery, and that you suddenly have a ship that came from the future, bringing you three grandchildren."

Vulwadar of the Ozalet, who looked nothing more than a cross between a human and a sloth, stretched in his seat. They were a nocturnal people, so he fought his body's natural rhythms by being awake with the rest of them. Sarek made note of it; the Ozalet ambassador was always in bad temper because of being up. It was a solid reason why his voice dripped with sarcasm. "Three recreations of Sarek, no doubt."

"An illogical statement. They are themselves," Sarek stated. "Regardless, it is immaterial to the discussion."

Csala of the Caitians perked up, her black tufted ears moving forward in her mane. "Still, congratulations to you and Amanda, Sarek." She purred in happiness for him when he nodded his acknowledgements and the other diplomat from Earth, a woman with gray, wavy hair and pink tones to her skin, beamed at him.

Spock came over to lean into his father and murmur, "The news provided an early distraction. I suggest, Father, that the scope of the other we had planned be widened to include the current parties."

"Meaning if we increase the audience…" He deliberately left it trailing off.

Spock finished easily, "We increase the effect. It will be necessary if you are to gain what I believe you are attempting to do."

I have underestimated Starfleet. His experience is as if he worked in diplomatic service.

Sarek held up a hand to his fellow ambassadors. "We must focus on the true priority. This action with the other starship has been done, and it must involve Coridan or all of us in this room in some additional manner. I believe we do agree on this point?" Concurring murmurs, both agreeable and reluctant, came back to him.

Ambassador Jyart of the hooded Wuc'Ul scoffed out an expletive. "With you as the prime focus."

"It does appear to be so."

"More than _appear_."

Sarek nodded once. "Granted." He read the room and decided to make his move forward…

…now. "It is why I must speak for the entire assembly when the attack comes."

His allies stared, stunned, clearly of one thought: he had gone too far, even with them. His enemies were on their feet if they hadn't been already.

Fortunately, Shras, the thin older Andorian, spoke first and gave him some leeway. Some of his jaw and cheek muscles had been damaged in a battle during his youth; they stayed tight and the inflexibility added an odd note to his accent. "Explain yourself, Ambassador."

He looked around the room to address them all. "You have stated I am the primary focus in this sabotage. I agreed. I have similarly agreed that it will focus on our mission. When the attack comes, it will come to me. I cannot stand against it if I must pass all my words through this gathering."

The Andorian smiled tightly, but Sarek could not decide if it was the old injury or his emotions. "You are interesting, Vulcan. You announce to the Federation you are stepping out of the arena for retirement. You step back in for Coridan only to tell us when you enter the room today that your retirement is over. Now you wish the arena for yourself alone."

"I ask simply to be able to represent the situation when it arises."

The Milisarian ambassador slammed a large, scaled hand down on the conference table. His tiny dark eyes in his similarly scaled, large head glinted coldly. "It has been lies! These outrageous stories are nothing more than Vulcans manipulating us to give them control of the conference!"

Sarek held his hands in front of him, the fingertips lightly touching. "These stories, as you called them, have been verified. We spread no falsehoods."

"Prove it!"

Sarek planned to do just that, but he had misjudged the Milisarian or he would have guessed what would happen next.

"Do what Ambassador Trorv said. Bring the children here!" The scales turned iridescent in the light when he swung on the older Spock. "Or did you think we never noticed that you failed to answer us?"

Spock folded his hands behind him, not knowing his younger self did the same behind him. "The children themselves are not necessary. Doctor McCoy can send the DNA results on myself, my younger self, and the children to give you the proof you seek."

Having an ally gave Trorv more courage and he stopped backing down. "Test results on a report? They give no proof when they can be falsified. Bring the children here! Have these tests done here where we can watch!"

Spock's face set. "No."

"And why not?!"

"Because they are children and they will not be the target of a hostile interrogation."

A small riot built from the tension. It only stopped when the younger Spock stepped forward and addressed the Andorian. "Ambassador Shras, we recently discussed a minor member of your staff who was eventually revealed as an Orion saboteur. At the time, you mentioned the suggestion of a plot."

"I have not accused a Vulcan of anything, Commander."

"That was not my intended meaning. I merely wished to use your statement in answer to those who do accuse us. How could it profit us to manufacture such a situation?"

The Milisarian roared, "We answered you. To gain Sarek sole control over Coridan!"

Sarek held up a hand as he calculated the remaining time before his next move. "Such an idea is impossible as it would still take the signatures of everyone here. Therefore, I clearly do not seek control over the Coridan decision. I seek the position of sole negotiator with the saboteur when he reveals himself. Ambassador, a moment." Jyart had been about to protest. "This saboteur is a man who has accomplished a great deal. He is intelligent. That intelligence will tell him one of us alone does not decide Coridan, so one of us alone cannot have such authority. He will, however, look to speak with me, and I cannot function in such a position if I am forced to pass each statement by this counsel. If I cannot function, we are all in danger from him."

Shras laughed at this. "This man steals a starship through time and you think the battle will be words?"

Sarek traversed the small space to the Andorian so they were eye to eye. "Ambassador, your people pride themselves on their violence, and you and I are both of an age where we experienced the history between our worlds. You therefore know firsthand not to mistake peaceful for weak."

The antennae bowed before the blue and white head did. "Agreed, Vulcan."

"Such a background will also make you appreciate this man's strategy in regards to me."

The antennae now worked this way and that way as Shras thought this over. "I see your point. If he wanted something other than words, he would not seek out an ambassador."

"Equally, he knows a soldier cannot give him Coridan, in whatever manner he wishes."

Shras agreed with this too. "Be careful though, Ambassador. He abducted your grandchildren. There are the weapons he will use in addition to his words."

Sarek clasped his hands together. It was the only sign he gave. "I am well aware of it."

He looked from the corner of his eye at his older son and imagined his hands were equally gripped behind his back.

The three Thesulians diplomats were neutral in their stance on the Coridan vote, waiting to hear the arguments that would be made at the Babel conference before making a decision. So when the middle-aged man stood up, Sarek expected his words to be equally neutral. A dark skinned woman with white hair in the traditional pigtails, and pale skinned brunette with her hair equally traditional in intricate side braids sat on either side of the man. He kept his brown hair in customary large, loose pigtails, like the darker woman, and his beard neatly trimmed. His ankle length dress had a scalloped fold in the center, different than the women's. "My colleagues and I do not believe the Vulcans fabricated the stories on the other ship and children. We do remain skeptical on Sarek having the power to decide Coridan on his own."

"Once more I state, I do not seek to decide solely on that decision. However, we must at least appear to be united where I may be the sole spokesman with this man."

He checked the time in his head and glanced to the younger version of Spock. He got a nod in reply and his son went back to the far wall again.

Kirk gave them this particular conference room for a reason. The size of the group would be better off in the large mess hall that had been converted to the welcoming dinner function the other night. But a mess hall did not have what a conference room did.

The reason they were in these tight quarters was for what this conference room had that the others and the mess halls didn't: the large monitor screen, instead of the smaller tri-screen.

The United Federation of Planets symbol appeared and stayed in place even as a woman's voice came through the screen. "Ambassadors. It's an honor to speak with you."

Trorv demanded, "What is this?!"

"Your proof," Sarek replied calmly. "It is the USS _Contact,_ from some point in our futures."

* * *

Note: I created the sloth and scaled ambassadors, and added the Caitian. All the others are in _Babel_ ; I only made up names for them, except for the Andorians and Gav whose names were given in the episode. You can see these ambassadors in the 'cocktail hour' scene; one party is left and they will be in Chapter 10.


	10. Chapter 10

(Note: I created the sloth and scaled ambassadors, and added the Caitian. All the others are in Babel; I only made up names for them, except for the Andorians and Gav whose names were given in the episode. If you read chapter 9 without the ambassadors scene, I trimmed a lot out of the chapter and put in the ambassadors after a reader (cobalt-blue) pointed out I rambled on. You don't need to read it to understand this chapter.)

* * *

USS _CONTACT_ , REC ROOM

"Oh my god," someone exclaimed softly, unaware they even spoke. "It's him."

Saavik hadn't warned the ambassadors about Sarek's contacting them or that their younger selves would be there too. The surprise was the point, after all. She had let them mill around the rec area, their voices rising and falling as they discussed – complained – about their situation, until the _Enterprise_ had signaled, explained Sarek wasn't alone, and she had them patched right through.

She kept her back to the large viewscreen as she gauged the diplomats' reactions. Some gaped, others dropped into seats, and some of them skittered backwards to the bar, eyes glued to Sarek.

No one kept up the protest that the whole idea of their falling back in time was a lie.

"Captain, this is Imre."

Saavik quickly reached the closest comm station with long strides, and kept her eyes on the ambassadors. She noticed the historians had somehow gotten word already and spilled through the doors. "Saavik here."

"We're ready to start the weapons test you ordered. Bimo warned the _Enterprise_ , so they won't be surprised. Even if it's not live fire."

"Are their shields still up?"

"Yes, ma'am."

Good, because if the test went the wrong way, she wanted them protected. She'd meant to be on the bridge for this, but the situation here was, for the moment, more volatile than the test.

"Commander, begin testing. Stream the resulting data to this station and alert me immediately of any deviation from the standard. I will return to the bridge after we complete the undertaking here."

"Aye, Captain. Imre out."

The short Ambassador Seluban of the Entirans peered this way and that way for a clear view of Sarek. " _Look_ at him. I remember thinking you could finally see him starting to age back then. Now I keep thinking that he looks so… _young_." He moved through his fellows to see better, since the taller species stood around in a crowd. The large size of the view screen and its elevated height usually made it easy to see from anywhere in the rec room, but being less than chest high on the others caused Seluban to push through the wall they formed. "I was a junior then. In fact—" He suddenly shoved forward even more and spoke to himself in an astounded murmur, "… _there I am_."

Yes, he was. Sarek dominated the picture, being the closest to the screen, but others started coming in view. Seluban's gold skin hadn't changed, of course, and the gold trimmed white toga and the light red fez were still traditional dress. Entirans were born looking older by human standards, but he could still look into the time mirror and see a youth on the other side, complete with an inexperienced gape over the universe doing something so fantastic.

But then, everyone gaped.

The Entirans back then had a lot of attitude too, because his younger self and Ambassador Sudav pushed their own way past two very tall, hooded Wuc'Ul, including the younger Ambassador Jyart in his gold robe.

Saavik split her attention between them and the weapons test. Nachson went through the ten phaser arrays one at a time, firing singularly and then starting combinations. Each result earned a green light.

"Poor devil," the retired Ambassador Rayfh of Earth murmured, his once blond hair now white. _Leonard McCoy's color_ , Saavik noted idly. He was looking at Sarek. "What a damn shame he got put on that other ship at the last minute. He could have seen his wife."

Saavik's lips parted. _I have been selfish_. She had thought of Sarek's safety and how better off he was by not being here for that reason. For _her_ piece of mind, she now saw, as his daughter and the captain in charge of Vulcan's safety.

However, thinking as a married person herself, with a spouse who meant more to her than all the worlds combined, she knew Rayfh was right: if anyone should have the chance to speak with Amanda, even if it was only on opposite sides of a darkened viewscreen, Sarek should.

He had been cheated.

"Which wife?" Ambassador Vulwadar's furred, sloth lips twisted snidely at the Terran envoy. He had to break to yawn, his nocturnal clock hating him being up, and Rayfh slid a mug of coffee across the table to him in just as sarcastic a move.

"The first, obviously. Don't be an ass just because he got the better of you every damn time."

 _Second wife_ , Saavik corrected, _but I agree on the subsequent point._

"Might have been awkward. Isn't the latest with him?"

Saavik's eyes hardened at the comment. _As if my father has a harem_. But she saw Rayfh shake his head tightly over the insolence, and let the ambassadors deal with each other.

"Put yourself in his place," the Earth delegate spat. "You got a wife at home."

Vulwadar instantly quieted. He waited for Rayfh to turn around and then picked up the coffee mug to thoughtfully regard the dark depths.

Putting that aside, Saavik saw her husband's and father-in-law's plan worked. Every diplomat always returned to the screen. They may hold a drink, they may say something to the person next to them, but they all went back to Sarek. That included the Ozalet whose eyes were drawn up from his coffee on their own accord.

One of the Thesulian women, with fuchsia skin and gray, loose pigtails, scrubbed her face with her hands. "This is, this is…" She looked back to the viewscreen. "…unbelievable. Look," she said to the other two women. "Veothur and Taxeer, _alive_."

Saavik had studied the diplomatic records for the historic mission, so she knew without looking that Taxeer was the man with the gray hair piled high, the grizzled beard, and the simple brown dress. Ambassador Veothur was the man with dark hair and beard, loose pigtails, and scalloped blue dress. Sarek spoke at his funeral only last year.

Bimojigar had been talking with the diplomats on the _Enterprise_ so far. She signaled on the screen that they were talking back.

"Greetings," Sarek said and saluted them. "Peace and long life. Understand we cannot see you, so I may offer only general good wishes."

Csala's ears twitched, gray fur now mixed in with the Caitian's black tips. Her one relative had been Amanda's aide in the later years. "What do they see?"

Saavik jabbed down on the comm station controls to mute the microphones. "They see the symbol for the United Federation of Planets appropriate for their era. I must ask that you be careful in speaking. My father-in-law is intelligent and so are all of you. If a large number of you talk, they may deduce it is the same group as their Coridan mission. They cannot know you are returning for the anniversary. Nor can they know how many years have passed."

Voices in a mixture of unwilling, ingenuous, and agreeable answered her that they understood. She turned the audio on again and immediately regretted it.

On the other side, Trorv bellowed as he stabbed a hand at the viewscreen. "How do we know anyone from this so-called future is there? It's only a voice! It could be anyone here on the _Enterprise_ , broadcasting from the bridge!"

The older Trorv on the _Contact_ spun around and yelled equally loudly, "I make a good point! _If_ that is me! How do we know? It could be a holovid made by the _Contact_ to deter us from how they're not getting us home! If it's real, why don't I remember it?!"

His younger self stared at the monitor, his porcine nose working as if he could smell across the space separating them. "What – was that me?"

Saavik immediately muted the microphones again as voices yelled over one another on both sides. "Bimojigar, I need to speak privately with Ambassador Spock."

Her communications officer kept her voice low, knowing the Vulcan ambassador would hear her, although she did get an eyebrow for calling him Mr. Spock Sr. He placed a comm earpiece in his ear. "Yes, Captain?"

Saavik leaned into the station. They needed to be all business now. "We need to give them a representative, in the same way we gave them you."

"It would answer their questions on whether you are real."

"You know them better. Suggestions?"

He looked over his shoulder at the building chaos and she did the same on her side. "Shras," he decided.

She agreed. "His slow aging does hide the amount of years it has been."

"He is also self-possessed and a leader. A moment." Sarek had come nearer and Spock whispered in his ear. His father nodded and whispered back. "Agreed, Captain. He is neither ally nor enemy which will give him believability with others. Signal when you are ready."

Saavik moved in a direct line to the Andorian ambassador. She rapidly explained and gestured to crewmembers in the area to clear a space. That had the added benefit of shutting everyone up as they wondered what was going on.

"Will you?" she asked Shras.

"Who would not, Captain?" he answered.

She spun on her toe, and, after one look, people scurried out of her way. She spun back directly under the viewscreen and addressed them from the platform made for this exact reason. "My integrity and that of my crew has been called into question. Ambassador Trorv, _quiet_."

She had been silencing belligerent Tellarites since her first cadet year; she knew what it took. Trorv subsided.

"If the situation was different, so would be my actions. However, while the accusations are unpardonable, your concern for what will happen is not. Ambassador Shras has therefore agreed to represent you. I ask that you step away from him and stay in those positions. We continue to deal with the frailty of time."

She called out to the air and the open channel to his earpiece picked her up. "Spock. We are ready. Computer, resume full audio."

They could tell when video began in the _Enterprise_ 's conference room. Even Sarek's head came up. "Ambassador Shras," he greeted calmly.

" _Thiptho lapth_ , Ambassador." A standard greeting whose real meaning Andorians kept to themselves. They defied the Universal Translator with it, declaring that whatever a linguist showed as a translation was "incorrect for the context." Everyone outside Andor therefore decided to interpret it simply as _Greetings_.

Saavik was one of those who believed the translator algorithms actually had captured the meaning correctly, but that Andorians preferred to keep the phrase to themselves. An issue that was not hers to solve. She swept her gaze to the weapons test; the photon torpedo launchers were active now.

Sarek got right to the point. "We are to prove we exist instead of being a deception. How may I do so?"

The Andorian shook his head. "I will first speak to my younger self first." Shras' two versions held an accelerated discussion in their own tongue. Saavik turned off the Universal Translator on her side as a courtesy and the older Spock did the same on his. At last, both Shras agreed the other was real.

The younger then asked in Standard, "Does Sarek have three grandchildren? Some here believe they are only a manipulation."

Saavik watched the Andorian here carefully. He ended up earning her caution. "They are real and are on the _Enterprise_ for safety. Something none of us here can claim."

She started to come back at him for that, when everyone in the room suddenly looked startled, sick, or a mix of the two. Saavik got an overwhelming feeling of _l'koihkeis_ , what Terrans called deja vu, as she swung to look at the main screen for the first time.

The recording of the children and McCoy in the cargo bay played: "They're kids, Jim! We found them stuffed in a crate! They're unconscious like everyone else except they're drugged!"

She swung on the Andorian and the old warrior met the weapon of her glare. " _How_?" she demanded, using the same tone she had used earlier on the Tellarite, only with a lot more teeth behind it. It was sure to be heard without yelling or walking up to him. "And _why_?"

In a moment, the whirling antennae slowed and dipped in her direction. "I did not do this. I could not as I don't have the access to the recording. I didn't even know it existed. However, Vulcan," he looked up to the screen and only he knew, at first, if he addressed Sarek or Spock, "I was about to admit that being here where the saboteur awaits is equally true for your daughter-in-law as well as the rest of the crew. Now…"

His coloring, even in his antennae, paled. With anger. "That sight in the recording, it is not one any parent or grandparent should see. Ambassador, we were wrong to think your family and the _Contact_ had no interest in getting home."

He lowered his eyes to meet Saavik's. "My apologies – to you as well, Captain."

Saavik heard her father-in-law. She had not taken her eyes off of Shras – but she believed him. He had even caught himself from implying the ship's captain was Sarek's daughter-in-law.

"I appreciate your words, Ambassador Shras. You are quite correct. It is not a sight for a family to see." Sarek paused. "Is our business concluded?"

"No."

Saavik readied for whatever Shras would throw next. _He did not mislead Spock; he is self-possessed_. But it was his younger self on the viewscreen.

"I ask myself a question. I have little experience with the Vulcan ambassador. He asks that we give him the sole voice over the Coridan system."

"I must object," Sarek said. "I do not suggest each party loses its vote on Coridan. For clear reasons, I request to be the sole negotiator with the saboteur when he at last emerges."

Saavik finally looked at him and Spock on the screen. And the sight—she kept her back to the room, so no one saw her wide eyes and open mouthed stare.

Sarek when he went to Hellguard.

That face arguing with Spock: she couldn't understand the words then, but she knew what he protested. So confusing because he was also the face calling out to her and the others, offering food and a safe place, and giving them all those things. That face that looked at her and held back until it grew into the one giving acceptance, and she, equally guilty until then, had done the same. That face who held an accord with her: to protect Spock, to protect Amanda, the two people in all the galaxies dearest to both of them. That face that started calling his house _her_ home. The face that asked her if she chose Spock as a consort, not only for her and his son's sakes, but because it was his strongest wish to welcome her as a daughter.

A long journey. He would start it in six years — with _this_ face.

As for Saavik: she took a silent, calming breath. She hadn't expected for all those old _feelings_ to come back, not when their pain died decades ago for both of them, and in its place was how very much they chose each other as father and daughter.

She hastily paid attention to Shras' answer. "I do know him better now. We have worked for and against each other enough times for me to answer." He frowned in thought, not disapproval. "He would never ask to be the sole vote on Coridan. It would not occur to him because it is absurd. However, do not forget. Vulcans were once warriors, and, as I said, he has seen something as a grandfather that won't leave him. He will go about it differently than we would, but if the vote were mine…" he bowed slightly, "I would give him the arena he seeks and call his enemy a fool for beginning this war."

The younger Shras nodded and looked over his shoulder at his fellow diplomats before returning. "We will discuss it. Now, a final question. Do you have my memories? I accept this is reality, but I don't understand how you can't remember it from my point of view."

The older Spock stepped forward. "I can answer you. Current theories on time travel believe that, rather than a line, Time loops and crosses itself, and therefore touches at points. Our being here from your future has elevated it. While we attempt to right this present, the future reacts to our current and near-future actions. Is that clear so far?"

The ambassadors on both sides looked at each other.

Spock tried again. "If the _Contact_ returns to its own place tomorrow and captures the saboteur before he begins, our being here will never have happened. Therefore, those of us at the older age can't have memories of days that will never have existed."

His younger self expanded on the explanation. "Interesting. The future has crossed this point in my present, due to the nature of this event, thereby bringing this sign of what will happen."

"Correct."

"It then becomes telling. If you continue to have none of my memories, it is a sign we will succeed."

"Also correct. Of course, the reverse is also true."

"Yes," the younger Spock sounded just as calm. "If you have my memories, it will mean—"

The large, scaled Milisarian ambassador whispered, "You failed. We're trapped here. We'll never get home."

Sarek answered that, even though it wasn't a question. "It is not currently the case and therefore illogical to discuss. The future gives a sign that we will fix time. We, in fact, succeed. I expect we will find the solutions that create that future."

The mood lifted again and he returned to the Andorian next to him. "Is there anything else?" He looked down the camera. "On either side?"

The younger Shras said, "Nothing for you or the _Contact_. To myself, I look forward to the times to come."

"Some are worth looking forward to. The others… you will live through. Ambassador," the older Shras said to Sarek.

"Ambassador. _Thiptho lapth_."

The tight cheek muscles stretched in a grin. "You do not know what that means."

"No," Sarek agreed, "I do not. And you do not know this. _Lau ish-veh halovaya nam-tor elik s' kusut_." He signed off.

Laughter spread around the room and Saavik thought it safe to leave. She gave Shras a significant look as she turned the Universal Translator back on after Sarek's Vulcan speech. He bowed with great dignity and with a smile for her.

Snatches of conversation came from all around her as she walked out.

"He really is the devil himself! Remember the time—"

"The food was awful at that first party. The liquor was good though. Agreed?"

"No offense, Trorv, but I'll never forget Gav coming at Sarek, and how Sarek just — flicked his wrists like waving off an insect, and sent Gav _flying_ into a wall!"

"Have you noticed how much the son ended up just like him? Have you gone up against Spock in a debate yet? Well, I had to face _both_ of them at once. Want to see the scars?"

"They say the one granddaughter is like them. So don't think it gets any safer."

"You heard what they said, didn't you? We don't have any memories from ourselves over there and that means we're going home!"

Now all Saavik had to do was make that come true. She swept the room the first time for the diplomats; if their spirits were good, they'd stop interfering with her crew with their accusations of doing nothing because the captain had her family with her. They seemed to forget: _the captain cannot_ be _with her family_.

She gave the room a second once-over for her own people's sake. Far from home like the ambassadors, running headlong into one obstacle after another that prevented them from getting back to their family and friends, and accused of neglect and being unfeeling until a minute ago. They relaxed around the room now, hope apparently restored. They smiled at her, lifted a hand in greeting, or nodded, depending on their personalities, and all of them did one common thing: they looked at her with utter trust.

"Captain?" It was the fuchsia skinned Thesulian woman. "Could we see the _Enterprise_? That can't harm anything."

"Of course. One moment." Saavik was already near the station she'd previously used. She worked a couple controls and the underside of the other ship came on the main screen, something she'd never be able to do if they didn't share the same warp bubble. She thought over an idea and decided for it.

One of the things Starfleet Command loved about Saavik was her being a Vulcan with a proven ability to successfully command emotional species as well as her own people. It was why they'd kept pushing starship captaincies at her for years, hoping she'd take one. It was why she said now to the Thesulian, "You might be interested in knowing that your younger selves are currently here." She marked the conference room with a pinpoint of light. She then added two others of different colors. "The second marker is the location of the opening reception, to give you a reference point, and the third marks your quarters on deck two."

The brilliance of her white teeth against her pink skin couldn't be brighter as the woman thanked Saavik and made her way back to her group. Trorv even brought drinks over and the laughter and stories continued around the room.

 _Satisfactory._ But Saavik hadn't forgotten that someone had played that recording of her children.

She strode out past the nearly wall-sized emblem in bas relief for the Starfleet forces on Vulcan. She was on the bridge in seconds.

Risteárd Imre got up from the command chair with a quick, "Captain on the bridge," and met her as she came out of the port side turbolift. It put them near Thalla who briefly looked up from her station as the exec handed Saavik a padd. "That's the detailed results of the weapons test."

She read it rapidly; it agreed with what she saw on the rec room station and was exactly what she thought they'd find.

Imre repeated it as well. "Everything's clear."

 _Damn_.

She glanced up at the Master System Display on the back wall. All systems ran fine, even the ones that weren't.

Bimojigar lifted her head. "You're being hailed by the _Enterprise_ , Captain. It's waiting for you in your ready room."

 _The children_.

The mantle on her shoulders became buoyed by knowing she at last could talk with Setik and the girls.

That mantle still lay on her though. "Acknowledged. T'allendil, you are conducting the search I requested?"

The fine boned dark head lifted. "Aye, ma'am. I confirmed the data and have extended search parameters. I will have a full report."

Having to extend the parameters was a bad sign. "I will take the report at the staff meeting. Bimojigar, speak with Ambassador Sarek. We should be more hospitable to our passengers. Arrange for another conversation between the two groups using our Shras as representative."

"Captain?" Imre interrupted. "I'd like to take that conversation with Ambassador Sarek."

It didn't matter if he or Bimo did it, but she noticed the new energy now running through his body language. "It appears to be important to you. Because it is Sarek?"

He grinned. "Not everyone sees him at the dinner table, Captain."

Her eyes lit. "I understand the reaction, Commander, just as I understand why the corridors become so crowded when Spock is aboard. I simply was unaware you felt that way. By all means, speak with Sarek. Inform him we have a change in purpose, and ask that each diplomatic party have a moment to talk with Shras. Perhaps there are questions he can safely answer while their older selves can see and hear the younger. And for people like the Thesulians and Ambassador Rayfh, they can indirectly speak with the people they have lost."

"That's very thoughtful of you, Captain."

She pictured Amanda, James Kirk, and Montgomery Scott over on the _Enterprise_. "We can all understand."

Nachson spoke up. "If you want to talk to Sarek, Commander - you know, when we get home - you could do something like I did."

"Which was?" Imre asked.

The tactical and second officer lifted a shoulder in a shrug. "I found out Spock and Sarek were both home, so I showed up at the front door." He met the stunned expressions on the bridge. "I had a declaration to make. Nothing to worry about. I was in dress uniform and I had talked a bit with Spock before."

"It was medieval," Saavik noted.

He gave a sideways nod. "They approved."

 _Of course they did_. "Mr. Imre, you will need to come to my ready room after this call. Allow me five minutes."

Despite the situation, he insisted, "Take ten, Captain."

Saavik heard the children's voices as soon as the ready room doors opened. She slipped into her chair that sat directly next to one of the three tall windows with the same width as her body. She had moved the desk herself, so she had a seat against the stars on her left side and faced even more large windows across the room. Another Master Systems Display monitor was mounted behind her, although a bit smaller than the one on the bridge and in Engineering. A few of the weapons from her collection hung beneath it.

"Father," T'Pren was saying and then her mother heard Setik and T'Kel jump in as they all talked at once. Their backs were to the computer, so Saavik settled in her chair to simply watch her family. Spock caught sight of her immediately and started to point her out. Instead, the children increasingly argued about how they only had so much _time_ and so much to _talk_ about and _don't you_ see _, Father—?_

He and Saavik shared an intimate, familiar look over their children's heads.

He called upon a device he used with them when needed, only this time the disciplinary sound in his voice was feigned. "I see you will not heed me. Saavik, intervention."

The children froze at the familiar words and then spun their heads fast and hard to the computer. She lifted her eyebrows at them. " _MOTHER._ "

They came at the screen in a rolling tidal wave of little Vulcan bodies. If she had been there, they'd have knocked her down.

Perhaps she… exaggerated. Still, Saavik thought warmly about hitting the carpet under the impact of her children.

They leapt into the single chair at the desk, balancing to fit while not knocking it over. Spock brought up another chair, an antique one from the sleeping area, with carved faces of an extinct animal that once lay side by side with sehlats in the PreReform days. The bowed seat got that way from its original near-throne like design and a millennium of generations sitting in it.

The antique could hold both girls, so T'Pren slid over from the standard issue chair. T'Kel, however, suddenly leapt up and knelt on the desk. She grabbed hold of either side of the screen and looked into it like it was Saavik's face she held. Setik and T'Pren lunged forward so they could see on either side of her, and the screen became crammed with their faces around T'Kel's arms.

"Mother," her eldest daughter started forcefully, "would you come here if you could?"

T'Pren protested that they had decided to take this question off their list. "You're _wasting_ time, T'Kel."

Saavik interceded as Spock had earlier mocked. "You also are aware not to kneel on the furniture. Sit down. To answer you, yes, I would immediately come there if I could."

This made the other two children instantly decide that they would discuss this after all. T'Pren pushed at an old fashioned padd. "Here's reasons why you can, Mother. One of them _must_ work."

Saavik's eyes glowed. "Send me the list and if I can use one, I will."

"Promise?"

"Of course. T'Kel, sit _in the chair_. Do not straddle the two and sit on their arms." Saavik silently warned her husband with a look that he had better not make a comment about where their daughter had inherited such behavior.

The older twin took a seat next to her sister, clearly refraining from complaining about being unjustly treated. She took hold of the padd and pulled out the stylus. "Mother, we have questions for you."

"Indeed?" Her eyebrows went back up. "If I had known, I would have prepared answers."

Setik jumped down from his chair to get closer. Saavik began to tell him it was not necessary when she became aware of how she sat forward in her seat, leaning on the desk to be nearer to the screen. She held back from telling her son anything, at least for the moment.

"That is the point, Mother," Setik informed her gravely. "Your answers are unprepared this way." He noticed he blocked his sisters and got back into his chair, but he scooched it closer to the desk.

Even with that, Saavik could now see around them. A personal library computer sat on a ledge behind their seats and in front of a small wall screen. A deep red showed through the holes in it and around it from the opulent hangings lining the other room.

"Where are you?" She thought they stayed in Sickbay.

T'Pren replied, "Mr. Spock's cabin. Have you _seen_ it, Mother? Some of these things are at home now. The red is good too."

"Yes, the red drapery." Saavik gave her husband a pointed look. He would later put these in his quarters again on board the _Enterprise_ -A where she would see them. Briefly. Valeris and Cartwright separated them soon after and he hadn't used the red cloth since leaving Starfleet. "The word _sensual_ comes to mind."

He gave back a look of feigned loftiness.

"What does sensual mean?" T'Pren asked.

"It means your father is an adult and decorates his room as such. It becomes particularly unfortunate that I am not there, since he and I could then explore this further," her eyes looked up at him through her lashes, "privately."

That took the loftiness, affected or otherwise, out of his expression. He seized the padd with the children's list of how to get Saavik to the _Enterprise_.

It caused a flurry of protests from the twins and their brother about how the padd was theirs and they needed it to talk with their mother. Spock ignored this as he made a few notes of his own and sent the list off to her. Her computer instantly signaled that it was received.

"Interesting," she said, eyes still on her husband. "You appear to have taken a new notice."

"I assure you, the notice was always there."

T'Kel scowled. "Mother, we do not have time for this."

 _On the contrary, I can listen to whatever you say._

Some of that came from her struggles with speech and writing after Hellguard, but the children's teachers stated they were at the level they should be. She didn't have a genetic fault that she had passed down, and once in a while, she took a moment to watch her son and daughters be the person she hadn't been.

"What is next on your agenda?"

After a quick huddle, Setik seemed to get this question. "Mother, did you always want to get married and have children?"

 _Why—?_ Spock gestured to the cabin, meaning his younger self. _I see_.

She did. If her younger self of the same age was here, the children would be appalled at the response. Because the answer was, "No. I was quite the opposite."

She would have said it with vehemence and at great length if she was younger.

She could literally see them reach out to each other. Setik carefully asked the next question. "Then why are you married and have children?"

"Because it is with your father. Discovering he desired this with me changed my perspective to something I strongly wanted. Is that sufficient?"

Their whole beings lifted. Setik nodded. "Yes, Mother. That is a _very_ good answer. It tallies with Father's."

She looked above them to Spock again. "Always good to hear."

He shot up an eyebrow. "The reverse is true as well."

T'Kel broke from their plan again. "Mother, these padds! They are—" She held it up and Saavik got a glimpse of the childlike, oversized writing on it, with Setik's recognizable for its smaller script and longer sentences. She didn't get a chance to read even a word, because T'Kel caught her brother and sister's significant stares. "Never mind."

T'Pren sat on the edge of the chair. "Our next question is… the colony that you came from… it is there now. Isn't it, Mother?"

Everything else fled from Saavik's mind. She hadn't expected this. This same thought had haunted her since they arrived here and she knew exactly what her daughter and her other two children would say, everything they would beg for. A part of her, that for some reason always sounded like she was ten, crouched in the empty place where her lost soul had once been and begged for the same thing. "Yes, it is there now. So am I and the T'Pren you are named for."

Alive in hell. But they had not met yet; T'Pren was newly captured and brought to Hellguard. Young Saavik was in another part of the complex with the others like her.

Her daughter brightened. "So we can go! We will get all the Vulcans and you. Mother, think about how good it will be."

Spock's eyes were full of compassion and understanding. He crouched down in between the chairs to help her as she explained, "T'Pren, you must listen. We cannot go to Thieurrull."

"But we _can_ ," T'Kel insisted. "Father and Grandfather did it before. They can do it again. Then we will bring everyone _home_."

Setik jumped in. "We thought about it. The adult T'Pren will adopt you as she planned. You will have a mother, and we will have another grandmother. Plus, the Vulcans will be alive and home. So will everyone like you. And – wasn't there a weapon? Now you will find it sooner and then the Romulans cannot use it _at all_."

T'Pren barreled back into what was her question. She might even feel she had more to be won or lost, being the namesake. "Mother? Isn't that good?"

"It would be very good." How could she explain to those earnest faces wanting her to make those dreams come true? This went beyond the usual telling them _No_. "…I want this as much as you do."

They took that as a yes and spun fantasies of how they had it all worked out. Because Grandmother Amanda would come meet Grandmother T'Pren when she heard about the important rescue, and they would probably go on missions together - Grandfather and Grandmother Amanda traveling on Grandmother T'Pren's ship - and that was how Saavik and Spock would know each other until the rest happened. Then the three of them would be born, and Grandmother T'Pren would be so pleased that she had a granddaughter named for her and whose secret _aht_ _í_ _a_ name had the same meaning as Amanda. And she would tell the children all the stories about their adventures and how good it was that they were a family now.

Saavik's youngest girl gave a satisfied breath. "We would have two T'Prens. _Two_."

Setik spread his hands on the desk in sudden thought. "Grandmother T'Pren was _bonded_. There is a holopic of him in her Life Album. Remember, you said he looked familiar? So she would come home to Vulcan and marry him. Then you would have a _father_ – besides Grandfather Sarek – and we would have another grandfather. Maybe even great-grandparents. We don't have any of those now. And your parents could have _more_ children. You would not be alone at all!"

Saavik withheld that T'Pren's betrothed was also on Hellguard and had died before his wife arrived. She would have to interrupt this fantasy soon enough.

Maybe, the children went on, they could even save Grandmother Amanda and Captain Kirk since they knew when it would be time-

Saavik pushed down every thought and feeling that dream of a golden life created. Because the answer was still No. _No, I may never be able to come to you on the_ Enterprise. _No, I cannot give you that grandmother and that life_.

Thankfully, Spock saved his wife. _He_ told them no and why it had to be that way. They kept up their protests and it wasn't until he said it put all their lives at risk and how their plans could all go wrong that they subsided.

Saavik never wanted darkness touching her children. She had enough for all of them, so she thought she could at least do this one thing as their mother. But they still met prejudice from everywhere; violence came into their lives two years ago, and then today's abduction. Now time dangled beautiful dreams that appeared real, only to have them yanked away with no logic apparently attached to why.

Darkness touched her children and she could do nothing. Only sit on the other side of a screen.

Spock silently made it clear he felt this just as much as Saavik put on the mask she always hoped said to her children that she knew what she was doing and that she was completely in control.

"All is not lost from what you pictured," she said. "I still have one T'Pren, and she has a very good brother and sister."

Her daughter's head drooped down to her chest. "It is not the same as two. You never had a chance for two."

"No, it is not the same." Saavik waited while Spock tipped up little T'Pren's chin. "But I had none before you were born. Now I have the T'Pren of my present and future. I am deeply gratified for it."

Her poor children: their meditations and controls were being pushed so far.

So were hers.

"Mother," T'Kel asked quietly. "Which way is home?"

Saavik wondered if this was a loaded question, because she learned this ability with T'Pren on Hellguard. But it was a sort of game the children liked to play whenever the family was away, as well as something she always did for herself.

Instantly, she had her bearings and pointed the way to Vulcan. Those three faces followed where she indicated, wistful.

She took a moment to speak gently, "You had other questions."

Both girls plucked at the padd with lackluster fingers until T'Pren shoved it the couple inches along the desk to her twin. T'Kel craned her head to see what they had written and shot her sister a murky look. But she backed off, maybe since her twin was the solitary T'Pren. "Mother—" she darted a look at Spock, "and Father, Grandmother Amanda and Father's friend, Captain Kirk, are here."

"I know. It is an excellent thing, isn't it?"

The three perked up. "Yes," T'Kel declared in much better spirits. "We think _very_ highly of them. They are very much everything you always said. And! Now _we_ know them _ourselves_."

"You should tell them how highly you think of them." _For their sakes. I can imagine their responses_.

"All right. Mother, they… ask us things and we have to answer. Or when we talk about home – how do we – not say that they are gone?"

Spock still stayed in a crouch between the girls and Setik. He looked back and forth between them, resting his hands on their chair arms to be even more physically close. "Your mother and I agree that you have done very well with it. It is a difficult situation for anyone and you have handled it well by avoiding certain details of the truth, or by allowing them to believe what they want. You must merely continue to do the same."

"What if," T'Kel pressed, "they directly ask us?"

Saavik thought she knew where this was going. "Why would they ask such a thing?"

T'Pren jumped in. Of course. "Because they realize we have never said they are there."

Talking with her children was to verbally swing on a pendulum every given moment. Saavik didn't care what anyone said: she was not this difficult as a child. " _If_ that occurs and _if_ your father is not there, you may tell Captain Kirk or your grandmother they are there in the future."

T'Kel's eyes turned to saucers. "We can _lie_?"

 _Damn_ wasn't strong enough. She had fallen into a trap. "I specifically said that you may say they live in the future. They do. Notice I did not say they are living in your _present_. But they will believe they do."

Spock lifted an eyebrow and gave a nod of _well done_. Not just for the deftness in the answer, but for covering up the fact she _had_ said they could lie, and then scrambled out of the snare.

Three mouths opened like baby birds to be fed. She bulldozed over it. "Next question, unless there isn't one. I prefer the latter."

She began rethinking her answer to the first one of did she want children. Illogical, of course, because she already had them.

The obvious exchange of glances warned her, but the question wasn't what she expected. And it floored Spock.

Setik puffed up in his pose of being the eldest. "We do think highly of Grandmother Amanda. Very." The looks went back and forth.

Saavik prompted them. "I agree with you. Is there a question?"

T'Pren voted herself to say it. " _Etek ashau fa-komi_."

Saavik's mouth tugged at a corner. Amanda's spell spread to the three more Vulcans in a matter of hours: they loved their grandmother.

"Of course you do. You should," she told them. "She deserves it, and you should tell her that as well."

T'Kel laid a hand on Spock's shoulder. "You did well, Father." As if he'd picked Amanda out. Or as if he got lucky in the mother lottery. The twins were capable of both thoughts.

He agreed with her. "I always thought so."

Saavik wondered if she was insulted over her children not saying they had done well in the motherhood department too.

She asked once more, "Is there a question?"

"Yes," Setik answered, his young voice solemn. "Are we disrespecting Grandmother Perrin because of how we are with Grandmother Amanda?"

Saavik moved back to sitting forward. She saw Spock actually struggle with what to say through his own stunned mind. "No, unquestionably not. One does not cancel the other. It is right that you treat Amanda this way. Perrin would tell you this herself if she was here."

"Mother," T'Pren hesitated. That was unusual for any of them. "Is that why you said we cannot go to Thieurrull, because we said we would rescue Grandmother Amanda, and Grandmother Perrin is at home? Because," she rushed now, "we are talking about it and we think we can answer that too."

Saavik caught her husband's eyes and gave a small shake of her head. He had done this for her the last time; now she would for him. A part of her did wonder: what answer could they have found, where Sarek was concerned, for both Amanda and Perrin alive at the same time?

" _Tal-kam_ ," she gently said, which was a Vulcan endearment, and then, " _T'hya'thae_." T'Pren's secret, _ahti_ _á_ name. "As much as you and I want to save Grandmother Amanda, it is a portion of the amount that your father wants to do it. So. Do you believe he would act if he could?"

Three young faces turned to their father. The answer was obvious: _Father would not say No if he did not have to do it._ They had to sit and absorb that for a moment; they reached out to touch Spock.

Saavik let them have that second before she spoke again. "Do you have anything more to ask?"

They fired quick, hard glances between themselves. The reason was obvious: if they had no more questions, it would end the conversation. They would have to say goodbye to her.

"If not, I have some for you."

Controlled relief: they didn't have to say goodbye yet. They sat as they should in the chairs and waited with perfect behavior.

"The questions are about the man who captured you. Ones—" she raised her voice to say, overriding T'Kel, "you have not been asked. Did he wear a uniform?"

No, civilian clothes.

"His apparent age?"

They described it as Grandmother Perrin's age. Saavik had asked merely for the sake of full details.

"Did he say he was from somewhere such as the _Contact_ or the diplomatic corps? Did he reference someone you know such as your grandfather?"

Breakthrough, albeit a small one. He had said Evan Porter, one of Grandfather's aides, was supposed to come talk to them, but he was ill. The man who took them did have a padd with the report on Porter calling out sick. It appeared authentic; it had the seal they were told to look for. Setik made sure.

The boy frowned, obviously thinking he should have done more.

Saavik asked next, "Did the man who came to your school dress like one of Sarek's or Spock's human aides?"

They grew up with diplomatic aides always around; they knew exactly what she meant. But no, this man wore informal clothing. He said it was because he had not expected to come for them and left his rooms in the Terran embassy without changing.

Except, Saavik knew, the diplomatic offices would have sent someone already working. They had more than enough staff to handle the situation without calling in someone who was off duty. The children, of course, wouldn't know all these details. Setik's explanation was logical for his age, and aides did arrive not dressed for the day at times, but only in emergency situations. The saboteur had done a good job of painting that for the children's naïve understanding.

What did that tell her? Saavik already had a few ideas; T'allendil currently chased down one. This new fact tied in well with it, except that her science officer reported she had to extend the search parameters. That meant the idea wasn't working.

It meant something else: she had to say goodbye to her children.

"For now," Saavik added when she told them so.

They got up from their chairs with only an intent reminder for her to check their list for ways to get her to the _Enterprise_. T'Pren suddenly moved forward, but T'Kel and Setik did the same so instantly after her that it looked as if they acted simultaneously.

They pressed their hands to the screen and Saavik could see their earnest faces in the spaces between their fingers. She spread her hand to cover the three of theirs and pressed back.

Too soon, they had to move away.

She switched to Old High Vulcan for privacy. "Husband."

Spock understood that was a sign she needed to talk with him. He told the children to wait by the door and answered in the same language. "I need to speak with you as well. Captain Kirk believes we all might benefit from a conference. I will give you the details when they are settled. I trust that will be shortly."

She told him of her upcoming staff meeting and how their best chance for immediate answers would be after that. He agreed and apparently thought that was what she had wanted to discuss. It wasn't.

" _You_ played the recording of the children and McCoy from the cargo bay," she stated pointblank.

He obviously saw no reason to hesitate. "I did."

"Without consulting me or considering my thoughts on it."

He sat back and steepled his fingers. She sat forward and folded her hands on the desk. He said, "Different parties, out of their fears and anger over the current situation, demanded to meet and question the children. Neither you nor I would allow such an interrogation."

"You change the subject."

"I do not. I saw their reactions to the recording would belay any further demands to produce the twins and Setik for questioning, and so I played it. You can see the decision worked."

Now she pushed back. "However, I cannot see what would have happened if you had refrained from using the recording, and we allowed Shras and Sarek to settle the issue without it. We may have had the same end result. We will never know."

"Speculation on it is, therefore, illogical."

"What is illogical is you choosing to make this decision alone."

He frowned. "I am their father. I can make such decisions regarding them."

"You are also well aware that you are _not_ a single parent. I was there and in communication with you. You should have consulted with me."

"For you to say no."

"Spock! You used the children's abduction for political purposes. Yes, I would have said no."

"Saavik, I did no such thing, and I am dissatisfied with a wife who would believe so."

Dangerous words. "I will not lower either of us to that discussion." Her shoulders suddenly dropped back to their normal line. "You may not have meant it, but the perception is there."

"To _you_ ," he insisted.

"To me," she admitted at last. "It does not make it untrue."

"Or true."

Neither of them was getting anywhere. They said nothing for a long moment. "Husband," she finally said, "agree that you will not use the recording again without discussing it or I will delete it. I should anyway. I will never need to report it to this Starfleet Command or my own."

He didn't reply right away, no doubt believing he had done no wrong and that agreeing with her sounded like an admittance of guilt.

He finally leaned forward. "You are their mother. I do not deny your equal right to make decisions for them. Would you agree I meant no political agenda?"

She let go of the remaining tightness. "Yes, of course."

"We have some agreement then."

"We have more than that." A spark of an entirely different nature lit her expression. "I continue to admire the red drapery."

"You are still the reason I changed my mind on marriage and parenthood."

She sat up straighter. She hadn't expected that. "As are you. Only you."

His eyes grew warm and his mouth moved to the small smile he reserved for her. She felt that awareness to her body that came to her only under his gaze.

"I will speak with you soon, _aduna_ ," he ended. "And Saavik? Check that list."

Saavik turned to the window next to her and all the warmth her husband just gave her sadly ebbed away. She also had no mate or children now to keep the memories at bay.

Little Cat, you must always watch the stars. You are like them, brave and bright. Look up. They all belong to you.

Saavik listened to T'Pren's words from those days on Hellguard: her eyes flicked up in her bowed head and she saw her stars outside her window.

 _Someday, Little Cat, I will get you out of her. I_ must _find a way_.

Here! Over here, Little Cat! Run! Run, Little Cat! We are going home!

Saavik's eyes moved to the spot she showed her children, her head still low and facing the floor from where she leaned forward over her clenched hands on her knees.

 _Home is_ that _one_ , there _, with all the others shining in the night._

She could find Vulcan in the sky within a second, no matter where she was. It was like they were magnets, always pulling toward each other. Vulcan and the stars and her.

But she had avoided thinking of that other spot; during the years, she found she could live ( _Live, Little Cat!_ ) without thinking about _that_ spot every day. _That_ spot where a Quiet One had roared, " _NO!_ " and then joined with the rest to take the death meant for her.

 _That_ spot where Spock had told her the truth, "Her name was T'Pren. No, she was not your mother, but she would have been. She would have searched the Universe for you."

Only Saavik's eyes moved again, this time to the last window across from her, to _that_ spot.

I will come back for you, Little Cat!

Oh, forgive me, Little Cat…

Back then, on that day when she'd returned to Hellguard and destroyed it, she learned she had not created Thieurrull; she was not responsible for its existence or for T'Pren and the Quiet Ones dying there or the half-breeds like her suffering. The Romulans kept them all there. Back then.

Today, it was her.

Saavik's head fell and a tear splashed down on the carpet. "Forgive _me_ ," she whispered.


	11. Chapter 11

USS _CONTACT_ , CAPTAIN'S READY ROOM

The door chime sounded. Saavik forced her face back to a mask of utter calm, and then told them to enter.

Imre got immediately to business, unknowingly doing the best thing he could for her. "Prefix code has been changed, per your orders. You wanted to talk to me about something?"

Saavik handed him the padd. "You know the tactical station tests."

"Seeing as how I was there, yes. Everything was normal."

"I added it to the list of other stations reading normal, such as the helm."

Understanding dawned. "I see. You're worried the weapon systems are compromised and it doesn't show up, just like the rest."

"I consider the possibility. Depending on his intentions with Coridan, our saboteur might have programmed an attack on the _Enterprise._ It would explain why he brought our ship to this point in time. You know we cannot allow it."

He gave a slow, small nod. "Naturally I agree." He dropped the padd on her desk with a curse. "We'd be better off if the tactical test got screwed up. Then we'd know for a fact that it is."

She gave a deeply agreed, "True. We will inform the command staff as a formality. It will be the first topic at the meeting."

He dragged his fingers on both hands through his hair. "The reports we're waiting for need five minutes."

"I commend them on their efficiency. I expected longer."

"Let me take that time to clear my head. It's been a long day and it's not close to over." He went to her replicator. "Two fingers of Jameson 18."

He had given her ten minutes; he earned his five while she attacked this from other angles – and put Hellguard back behind its door.

Saavik thought about what he'd just said. Not the order for the alcohol – it had taken the programmers a little time to make the computer understand orders in fingers – but his comment on clearing his head. "You make an excellent point. I will order the command staff to a half hour break after our meeting. It will aid them once the saboteur strikes and they can take none at that juncture."

Imre took the drink to her couch under her weapons collection, bypassing the two chairs in front of her desk. The couch could, if necessary, convert to a bed if she ever needed to sleep while staying at the bridge.

She sent a notice to Bimojigar that Spock or another would contact them for a conference. Depending on who attended on both sides, her communication officer needed to be ready with the necessary visual controls.

Imre took a slow sip and then held up a forefinger. "I'm breaking my rule about giving me five minutes. You asked for who recently was part of the crew and left, meaning they still had the opportunity to inflict the sabotage."

"And?"

"Just a few, the usual transfers everybody has. I checked against T'Kel's description of who kidnapped them and the number drops to zero again. Still a good thought."

"We eliminated another possibility." Sooner or later, it had to get them someplace. It had to reveal the saboteur.

They had cleared the crew. Each person on board received more than one approval.

And yet…

Imre spoke into his glass. "You're reconsidering that it might be me."

Saavik didn't deny it; she had no reason to do it. "You reconsider me for the same reason."

His lips pressed together as he looked into his drink. "Who knows this entire ship better? Which is when it starts with us reconsidering the command crew too." He let out a long breath. "If I could come up with a reason that would make you betray the Federation - which I haven't been able to do - you would never, _never_ , kidnap and use your children as part of your plot."

She would die first. "I obviously have an accomplice. He is the one who took the children."

"That would be illogical. No one else could better get to the kids or gain their trust than you, except for their father and grandfather, and they didn't go. You certainly wouldn't send a stranger for that reason, and you would still go yourself to make sure your accomplice didn't harm them. So you wouldn't send someone else and you would never kidnap them at all. If we consider that your accomplice took the children without your knowledge, you'd immediately drop from the conspiracy and work against them."

"I am that honest as a conspirator?"

"You're that pissed off that they took your kids." He leaned back into the couch. "It's not you."

"Or you." For a number of reasons.

"Which takes us to Kyle Nachson, since he's second officer. I can only think of one reason that man would betray his oath as an officer and work against the Federation."

Saavik frowned. She hadn't thought of any. "And that is?"

Imre shot her a look for missing the obvious. "If you told him to do it. Conversely, Kyle would eat his own limbs before he'd betray you. He's been with you a long time, hasn't he?"

"That is a relative term. However, it has been since his last year at the Academy. Someone brought him to my attention."

The brashness and roughness he had learned in a difficult orphanage on one of the Frontier colonies nearly got him kicked out of the Academy. A friend of a friend brought his potential to Saavik, to see if he could be saved.

Difficult orphaned life on a border colony: yes, Saavik had definitely taken interest.

So Kyle became, in the eyes of everyone else, Saavik's unofficial protégé. In her mind, as well as Spock's and Sarek's, he became what Amanda would call her stray.

Imre snorted. "He said he made a declaration to Sarek and Spock… what did he declare?"

"That he had followed me to Vulcan from the _Armstrong_ , despite my objection, to do whatever he could to see to my safety and be of good service as my officer. As I said, medieval. My husband and father-in-law, however, called it immensely respectful."

"Great, now I look bad. He's raised the bar too. I would need to do something bigger, like…" He looked pointedly at his favorite piece of her weapons collection: a beautifully crafted spear where even its tip was an artwork of wrought gold metal as a layer over quality carbon steel. It had what looked like a Terran French horn at its top, except with an alien version of an Ojibwe dreamcatcher in place of its levers, valves, and slides. The native chieftain would signal a call at the start and at the end of battles, as well as in celebration for a marriage, birth, an extended family all home again, and for an ally who had proven themselves a true friend in peace and conflict. V'Zacaha had sounded this spear for just that reason before presenting it to 'her new sister, Saavik'. The dreamcatcher, with its whites, golds, and greens, was actually the tribal sigil with an additional symbol for the Vulcan.

"You are not arriving at the house carrying that Qeechal spear. However, this is a good time to inform you I have added your palm print to the locking mechanisms. These," she pointed out three of the pistols, "are kept loaded as well, and while they appear to be antiques, they are phasers with sham casings. You will need this code to go with your palm print." She gave him the Old High Vulcan word for 'unlock', and had him repeat it until he could say it correctly.

"But why?" he asked.

"To defend the bridge. These are closer than the nearest weapons locker. They would not allow me to add one to the bridge, so we have only Nachson's phaser at his station. If we are attacked, you will either aid me in unlocking these weapons more quickly or you will take my place if I have fallen."

It quickly sank in. "Understood, Captain. I would like to set up drills for the different shifts on the bridge. Some of these weapons are unfamiliar and we'll need a comfort with them in the event we are attacked."

She agreed and told him to include Tran and his Security teams. She unlocked the sword with the embedded flintlock in the pommel and down into the blade from its place behind her desk. "This is authentic and loaded. It is Mr. Nachson's favorite. This," she indicated the war hammer with an armored elephant as the weapon's head, "is Mr. Jaxon Tran's. They have borrowed them for training. I tell you this so you may include the knowledge in your drills, although all personnel must become familiar with each weapon. However-"

"Wait, Captain. Why do they get to borrow their favorites and I don't get the horn spear?"

"Because they asked me, and it is a _Qeechal_ spear, not a horn spear, from the planet Ahnoonj'kwa."

He cursed a little before the handsome face smiled. "Lucky me, I get to work for the funny Vulcan."

Saavik imagined the several people in her past – actually, everyone from her past – who would be stunned by that description of her. Including herself.

"Ma'am, do you see the irony of a Vulcan arming her bridge when humans don't?"

Yes, she did. However, when she took on the mantle as the shield around Vulcan, she freely admitted the ferocity she did it with had its share of Romulan talons, as well as something ancient Vulcan to it.

"We are Vulcan's defenders, Commander. It is a different perspective. However, returning to the original matter."

"Yes, of course. You said you didn't want Nachson following you to Vulcan."

She locked the flintlock sword back in its place behind her desk. "You know the previous discrimination for the Starfleet commander of Vulcan forces. I did not want it affecting Nachson. You will remember I spoke to you as well about it."

"I do. But he followed you anyway."

Without her knowledge of it. He had suddenly shown up in her office with his authorized transfer papers and a note from her former captain: "I can't take him moping about the ship. He's yours. –TH"

"He said he had talked to Spock before, Captain. Because he's your protégée?"

"No. Spock only knew of Nachson at that point, not even on sight. Their initial meeting followed Spock and I returning to the _Armstrong_ after our wedding. Nachson was sent to greet him, Dr. McCoy, and then-Captain Uhura. He recognized Spock only as my new husband, not as Starfleet legend and notable ambassador, and informed him they had installed a double bunk in my quarters."

The transporter chief had been appalled, her consort had rightfully accepted fact as fact, and Dr. McCoy had joyfully told everyone the story.

Imre laughed to himself before he said with a broad smile, "I asked you for Nachson's life to remind me of how right my first decision was. His loyalty to you can't be broken, even if he believed in whatever a collaborator thought. It's not him."

"No, it is not. It is not any of them. We have ensured it."

His eyes flicked up above her head to the Master Systems Display showing the _Contact_ supposedly free of issues.

Saavik had let Imre go on, knowing he needed it. She had calculated how long it would be before he got to this point: he stared at the nothing in his glass until he suddenly gripped it hard as if he imagined doing the same to the saboteur's throat or maybe wanting to throw the glass into the wall.

"Our ship," he spat. "He runs around _our_ ship and we're left standing here like idiots!"

He definitely wanted to throw the glass and even got to his feet, staring at it with bared teeth.

"He's not one of us, and _that_ means that at some point, we stood there and waved this guy through to every part of the ship he wanted to tear apart!"

His fingers tightened and made his knuckles white. It took four seconds before the worst anger vented out in an exhale through his nose. He forced his jaw to ease.

"Are you really going to let me smash this all over your wall?"

"Would it help?" she asked quietly.

In answer, he sat it down on the arm of the couch. He eyed the horn spear with some desire.

With the non-idea of a crewmember being a saboteur, Saavik moved on. Connections pulled apart and linked in new combinations. She started at her station and sent the data to T'allendil to include in her search.

 _If we remove the issue of the saboteur fearing his own timeline will be eradicated, we may prove who he is._ Except he should have shown on their searches.

 _It is not the equipment and I normally would state it is not us_. Which returned her to someone in the crew at least aiding in this plot and masking the real signs their searches would discover.

But no, it was not the crew, and she knew that decision was correct. She must not waste time with indecision. No captain could afford it.

Removing the timeline issue fit with Frubia and Frubia also fit in with the children's description of what the man wore. But again, the scans.

He wasn't Starfleet, but he had the knowledge level of someone in it. They had eliminated the crew, and personnel who transferred off. Saavik went at the computer: someone who had been Starfleet and then left or received a discharge would fit the conditions, but again the result was zero.

It was there: Saavik could see the variables and how they should work together, even with the unknown factors. Something critical barely hid itself, she should grasp it. If it was a physical puzzle, some pieces would be missing, yes, but enough were there that if the player could recognize them upside down, flipped over, and half sticking out from beneath others, they'd have the answer.

 _I should recognize them_ , she chastised herself.

"Have you ever heard the expression 'you're going to burn a hole in the screen?'"

She answered him by speaking her thoughts. "I am reminding myself of the Vulcan game _kal-toh_."

"The one with the rods? It's supposed to be harder than chess."

"More importantly for this moment, it is not only a game of thought and strategy, it emphasizes patience. You cannot solve the chaos of the puzzle without it."

Which may be why I fail to see how the variables relate to each other.

Near the couch, in the left corner across from her desk, was a stand with her Twilight Eagle statue, a gift from Amanda, secured to the top and lit from above and below. In the right corner, on the other side of three more tall windows, stood a centuries-old _lirpa_ with an _uQSo_ creeper plant growing around it. The two were enclosed in a tall, transparent aluminum display case on a decorative stand and lit with a red light which mimicked Vulcan's sun. They stood next to the large Vulcan stellar map hanging on the wall, a recreation of the ancient charts made by PreReform warrior tribes to guide them at night. A gift from Spock many years ago. Below were two small firepots, one on either side of her carved trunk depicting Vulcan's rise to peace.

Imre's head went from one object to the other. Her exec then rubbed a hand across his forehead and drew it down his mouth. Fatigue. No, aggravation. "Whose _lirpa_ is that again? I know it's from the family."

"Sarek's great-grandfather, Aevrauk. Solkar's father." She took a moment to look at it. "It was his favorite. When the wars ended, he stabbed it into the ground so the creeper would engulf it. Do you see the random green pattern like splatters on the red leaves? They are called blood leaves. Green blood on red sand," she whispered. "Families used to grow these in a prominent place if someone died in a House war. It meant many houses had these plants." She paused, picturing it. "Aevrauk deliberately chose it as the vine to overcome the _lirpa_. He meant it as a symbol that he never would have to take it up again, so no more blood would be splattered on the sands."

Imre spoke in a hush, "A flair for the epic. I admire that." He lifted his glass above his head in a toast to the Vulcan's memory.

 _It is certainly a trait both my father and husband have inherited._ After a second, Saavik added T'Pren's name to the list.

He shook his head in admiration as he got up to refill his drink. "You married into one helluva family, Captain."

Yes, I did.

Imre sipped his drink as he moved to one of the windows and leaned against it, keeping his eyes on the display case. "How often do you have to trim back the plant?"

"I don't. No one ever has and we do not know why." Saavik caught his looking at her. "I am quite serious. It does move, of course."

"Which is really disturbing to see, by the way."

"It does grow, but it also recedes, so it is not the exact length all the time. The _lirpa_ has not oxidized either, although, granted, we have not pulled the blade out of the soil. However, an _uQSo_ vine feeds on microscopic mites in the light. It leads to the prevalent theory in the family that the plant also feeds on the redox reaction before it completes and damages the weapon. In return, that oxidation feeding stunts the plant's growth."

Imre swirled the remaining whiskey in his glass. "Easy enough to test the theory."

"Yes."

A corner of his mouth lifted. "But no one ever has."

"No. A flare for the epic. Vulcans are equally guilty of it when it comes to those days. Solkar once said Nature showed us his father's symbol had changed. The blood splattered plant did not engulf the _lirpa,_ so we may be reminded that the day may come when the weapon would have to be pulled from the ground and taken up once more. He meant it more as a reminder not to lose the peace and allow violence to overtake us again."

"Is that why you asked for it?"

She actually had asked Sarek for only a plant clipping, because she respected it so much, and thought of growing it around another _lirpa_. She'd never expected that, on the day she moved her personal items into her completed ready room, her father would send three cousins with the new floor-to-ceiling display case and its inner environment harboring the _lirpa_ and its _uQSo_ creeper.

Imre held up a finger. "I think I know what meaning it has for you." He drew the finger along the rim of the glass, his eyes far away. "You don't want to ever have to draw the weapon from the ground, sharpen its blade, and take it up against an enemy. Let the plant have it." His eyes raised and met hers. "But you will, if you have to. For Vulcan, for the Federation, for me and the crew. For your family. To protect them, and, most importantly, so they don't have to take up the _lirpa_ themselves."

If someone needs to be blood spattered, let it be me.

Before the Federation. Before Vulcan. Before the family. If nothing else, let it never be the children. It already happened once with T'Kel, and Saavik fervently wished it would be the last and only time.

"Am I right?" Imre glanced through the window to the _Enterprise_. He grinned as he headed for the replicator and asked for water. "I'm right."

He swallowed it in a few gulps and walked up to the case. His voice sounded far more serious. "Ma'am. Will my palm print unlock this as well?"

She chose to misunderstand him. "There are _lirpas_ on the wall if you feel you need one, including one of lighter weight if someone in the crew is uncomfortable with the standard one."

He stayed respectfully quiet.

She took a breath. "Yes, you can unlock it." She watched the vine twist and climb in a new direction. "However, Commander…"

She didn't need to say it. "The last resort, Captain. Absolutely, the last resort. I swear. Let the plant have it."

Saavik's station chimed. One was T'allendil's finished report; she had sent it ahead of the meeting anyway, so her captain would know its details for any further decisions. A second chime was a call from the _Enterprise_. Spock must be letting her know when this other meeting was.

She pressed a control. She didn't pay attention at first until she heard a voice.

Amanda.


	12. Chapter 12

USS _CONTACT_ , CAPTAIN'S READY ROOM

"Hello? Are you there?"

Saavik and Imre both swung their heads sharply to the computer. Amanda took Spock's desk chair, but pointedly did not look at the screen.

Saavik hurriedly muted her station, but she didn't turn it off. "Mr. Bimojigar?"

"I heard her as soon as the channel opened, Captain. Visual is blocked on her side and she's never tried to see you."

Amanda still kept her eyes averted. "I know I'm not supposed to do this, but I honestly, I'm not trying to find out who you are. Much as I would like to know."

" _Why_ is the channel open?" Saavik demanded.

"I thought she was a part of the conference or at least brought us information on it. I should not have assumed."

 _Neither should have I_.

The Sozon officer asked, "Should I cut the channel?"

Imre looked from Saavik to the screen and back. "Go ahead, Captain, talk to her. You deserve it. Don't deny yourself the same chance you gave the Thesulians and everybody else, including your husband."

She hadn't taken her eyes from the screen. "Mr. Bimojigar, you have means at your disposal to mask my voice."

"Several, ma'am."

She shouldn't. Even with the aid of technology, something could go wrong. It was not only illogical, it was dangerous.

But… _Amanda_. "At your discretion then."

Amanda folded her hands on her lap. "I can't imagine what you're going through, being separated from your children like this."

The bangs of Imre's longer, light brown hair fell away from his prominent forehead as he leaned over. "Captain, just remember, your speech pattern is distinctive and very Vulcan. You will need to shift it so she can't guess what you are. I'll see you at the meeting."

Amanda spoke into the empty air, "So I wanted you to know that I'm watching them for you. We all are. They couldn't be more loved and protected."

"Mr. Bimojigar!"

Amanda continued. "You could have made it easier on yourself by insisting Spock stay with you, but you didn't. Thank you for that. It's meant the world to see him." She paused. "I suppose I should go. Please remember, as you go to wherever you need to be, that I am here and always will be. No matter if I am out of sight."

"You are clear, Captain."

Amanda started leaving. Saavik quickly hit the mute button again, turning it off, and called out for the first time in her life, "Mother."

Amanda froze.

 _Say something that shows that you are… hers._ "The last two lines are from a song."

The older woman looked back over her shoulder, amazed.

"You've said them to me before. It's not your favorite song though. You're embarrassed to tell people your favorite." Saavik worked quickly. "It's this one," and she hit a key.

Amanda dropped back into the chair and stared at the darkened screen as the outlandish tune played. Then she threw her head back and laughed. "You devil! Please tell me you have never told Spock about that song. I know I wouldn't."

Saavik switched speech patterns for the second time. "Me either. It'd scar Spock and I don't need to deal with that."

"I believe it. I believe I like you a lot too or I wouldn't have told you about it."

Simply for diversity, Saavik starting using speech patterns from people she knew or had known. "You thought you were alone in the house. I walked in and heard you. One of the more fun moments in my life. You're lucky I don't do blackmail. Do you believe it's me or should I reveal more secrets?"

"Your voice changed!"

"Yes." _That was Captain Hunter._ "Let's see, other secrets. You and Sarek were almost arrested while you were dating, because he thought you wanted him to defy the local law enforcement and he was trying very hard to impress you."

Amanda's shoulders shook from withheld laughter.

Saavik shifted her speech again. "You said they should warn new mothers about real things. Like the time you were badly sleep deprived and Spock woke you up after only twenty minutes. You thought, 'Oh my god, he's evil incarnate,' and then felt like you were a bad mother."

Shift again. "You'd feel very sick when you carried Spock and would lie against I'Chaya, because you said his body heat, how soft his fur was, and the way he rumbled when he slept made you feel better. Sarek even put a blanket over the two of you sometimes. When he died, you cried that night and asked that he'd be buried with the blanket."

Saavik stopped. When she was pregnant with the twins, she had laid against Ko-Kan because she had remembered about Amanda and I'Chaya.

She picked a voice from one of her foster families. "You got a necklace and pendant on under your dress, because you got it from your mom as the oldest daughter. She got it from her mom and so on, but you got it as a wedding present, not when she died. You found out later your mom did that 'cause she worried she wouldn't see you again, since you moved to Vulcan. But you did see her and she said…"

"'Keep the necklace,'" Amanda whispered, "'so you have it for a good reason.'"

"Your sister was a little jealous, but your Aunt Marion talked to her. You said Marion probably scared her into accepting it, but that was okay since your sister stole your Molly doll when you were six. …Mother, do you believe it's me?"

Her mother-in-law did nothing for a beat, then leaned forward and brushed the screen with her fingertips. Unseen by her, Saavik met them with her own – as she had with her children.

In the same whisper, Amanda asked, "It's not just about you being married to Spock, is it? …We're friends, aren't we?"

Saavik pressed her fingers tighter to the screen. "Yes, we are."

We barely had seven years and I did not see you for all of them. Your last months… I thought we'd have more. I thought we had time.

And if I cannot save you, may I at least change it so I reach your bedside before it's too late?

They were quiet for another pause before Amanda said, "Tell me something. Anything you think I would like to hear. I have too many things in my mind and I can't choose."

It wasn't any easier for Saavik, but she thought of what Amanda would like and, especially, what she never got to see. "I wore your dress on our wedding day."

Amanda clapped her hands with delight. "Did you?"

Saavik used VSE Commander T'Mes' voice. "I would not lie. Especially not for something as that."

It had to be adjusted to fit my height and build. Just as it had to be done for you to wear after Sarek's mother, T'Kel.

"Were we there this time? I know you can't answer that, but I wish you could. I want to know that I see my son married. That Sarek and I watch him strike the gong and see you come to him, the way we did on our wedding day. I don't want to miss it again because we're on a mission, even though it was probably for the best because I would have killed T'Pring."

The corner of Saavik's mouth curved slightly. Amanda didn't mean it literally, but the thought of her picking up a lirpa was a wonderful image.

"Not because she wanted someone else, but because of how she did it."

My thoughts exactly.

Amanda swung suddenly to look at the monitor. "I'm not upsetting you or offending you, am I?"

 _On the contrary_. "I called T'Pring a bitch. Twice. Emphatically."

That did it. Her mother spluttered into a laugh to rival the first. She kept chuckling as she settled down until her expression melted into aching. "I hope I don't miss your wedding. I don't know if I'll live to see the grandchildren's, so I just want to stand with Sarek and see our son's."

Answering Amanda with what she wanted to hear did nothing to protect the future. It would be to give this woman, who had done everything for her, what she wanted. To settle a worry that gave her pain. It would be personal, unnecessary, and therefore wrong.

However.

For the sake of duty, Saavik had lied over things that meant much less than this. "You're there." _In our thoughts, but take comfort by believing otherwise_.

Amanda blossomed with joy. She put her face in her hands and then slid them down revealing her eyes. Her _glistening_ eyes.

Saavik could have left it there, but those tears compelled her to go on. "Spock rocked the children in your family rocking chair, like all Graysons. The first time with Setik, he said he had a combination of awe for being a father and alarm over his ignorance. When T'Pren was first talking, she would sit in his lap and jabber in her own language while he listened, just amazed. He stopped anyone from correcting her. He said she would learn the real words in time, and she did. T'Kel still uses the rocker for a starship. She allows her sister and brother 'on board' with her, but Spock and I are banned."

Amanda pressed a fist to her lips. Her voice quivered. "Because she'd have to sit in your lap and she's too grownup for that now. I remember Spock in that stage."

"The Graysons are worried she'll break the chair. You know we wouldn't allow that, so… you told them they can't take it back. Thankfully, they didn't see the children trying to put their sehlat on it." _Sarek actually told the family they could not take the chair away. It was a battle._

Some are also unhappy that you left your family necklace to me and that T'Kel will inherit it next. But only some. Your Aunt Marion was a great champion of mine.

Amanda asked quietly, "And you?"

"I… have had a few moments where I wondered if the children are evil incarnate."

"Completely normal." At last Amanda sniffled and mouthed, "Thank you."

She kept the fingers of one hand over her mouth as she looked around the sleeping area of the cabin, composing herself. The hand suddenly dropped. "I didn't take a good look around here before. It's very…"

"Yes, it is. I told him so."

"That's his Vulcan side expressing itself. As his mother, I think I will leave it there without any more discussion." She looked back at what was a black screen on her side. "How are you doing?"

Saavik took a slow breath.

"You can tell me, Vulcan or anyone else."

Saavik used her own speech pattern to say it. It wouldn't matter for a couple short sentences. "It is difficult being away from them."

Amanda got as close as she could to the screen, for her daughter's sake. "Of course it is."

"They are in this situation and I cannot be with them. Spock is there, you are there, but I am not. I am… bound."

"I know."

"From them, from my husband, from you and Father."

"Yes, you are. I wish it wasn't this way."

"I had to disappoint them when we spoke. They want – what I want. Except…"

"Except you still couldn't say yes. I wish I could spare you that too." Neither of them said anything until her mother encouraged her quietly. "I told you, you can say it."

Saavik at last did what it took her years to learn in her own time: she laid her burden into Amanda's lap. "I do them no good there and I do none here. Put aside my… hurting them already when I had to disappoint them, we are no further than when we started with their abductor. Mother, what am I that a stranger appears and can do what he is doing to my family with me powerless to stop him? To protect them? To even comfort them?"

Amanda's voice became firm. "Hold it there. What you are is a person in a crisis that will be resolved and you will be a part of it. I don't doubt it, no one does. I even think that you don't doubt it. Don't let him take your calm away. It's too great a weapon to give him."

"Yes, it is."

"This man clearly has been planning this for years. You, on the other hand, have only had hours. I'm telling you something you already know, but it can help to hear what's in our heads from time to time. That holds true for Vulcans too, if you are one. You believe me, don't you? Or do I need to point out neither Spock nor anyone else over here has figured this out? You don't doubt them, do you?"

Saavik automatically shook her head even though she couldn't be seen. "No, I do not."

"Remember this: this man is not smarter than you, he is not better than you."

Saavik's voice dropped. "He gives every evidence of it."

Amanda scoffed. "His evidence is having the years to your hours. But think about it, it's impossible for him to know your ship and us better than you. Even with the years he's had."

Saavik skimmed the clear test results next to her hand and she remembered what Imre had said. "You believe so?"

"Yes. It's like saying this man can best Sarek at what he does. It's ridiculous. It's a matter of – catching up. You know what else? Whoever he is, _he_ knows it too. It's why he has all these elaborate plans with your ship and everything else. It's the only way he can hope to match you and everyone else for any length of time."

The older woman gave her a lovely, warm look. "You know what else you are? A wonderful mother. I'm certain I've told you that many times, but you need to hear it now. Those children wouldn't be as beautiful as they are if you weren't."

Saavik looked at the small, pale, stone carving on her desk of three hands: two adult Vulcans touching paired fingers with the third, a child's hand, lying in between – like Setik and the girls did with their parents. The children had protested she had something from everyone in the family in her ready room but them, so she had moved this from her quarters to here. The twins still objected since they weren't in the carving; McCoy had the gift made before they were born. They periodically tried sneaking a favorite toy on her desk to represent them: a ship for T'Kel and a little plush eagle for T'Pren that their mekh-rás (or godparents) gave them. Saavik suspected Nachson helped them.

She lifted her eyebrows and went more 'human' in her speech. She had used her own voice for too long. "Didn't you get called in to settle a riot?"

"Well," Amanda drew it out as she dismissed the problem, "They have my knack for finding trouble, that's all."

"You're being nice, putting it on yourself like that. Particularly for the ringleader."

"Was that a London accent? It's fun listening to you jump everywhere in the way you talk. Anyway, wherever they get it from, they're giving you something to pull your hair out over and getting into things the way kids do. Welcome to motherhood. The evil incarnate doesn't stop when they're no longer infants. Spock tore apart my roses when he was a little boy. I could have killed him, but there you are. You're getting them where they need to go. And that includes when you tell them what you _have_ to say, not what you want to say."

Saavik said, "Mother."

Amanda's eyes glistened all over again. She put her fingers to her lips once more, like she could feel the word land there.

"Mother," Saavik repeated, because she could, "am I ever going to find the answers with the children? When do I stop making mistakes?"

Amanda shook her head. "Never. At least, I haven't. I made a terrible mistake with Spock yesterday. I still need to speak with him about that. Listen, I can go into a room with your three dervishes, as Dr. McCoy called them, and straighten them out immediately. I have that experience. You do too. But they come up with new situations as they get older and we do our best to come up with the answers. Sometimes, we make mistakes. But remember what I told you, you're doing well." She suddenly pointed a finger. "Another thing! Don't let Sarek and Spock pretend that imperious streak T'Kel has doesn't come from their side. Look who's head of the House, after all."

Saavik warmed at the thought. "Good advice. Anymore?"

"Yes. You're the woman who gave the family two girls. Lord that over everyone, for all it's worth. I would."

Saavik allowed herself to snort as Lauren Warfield would. "Liar. You wouldn't."

"You can't fool me. I know I put on airs as their grandmother. If I haven't, I'm going to start."

Sarek entered. Saavik heard him before she saw him. "Amanda, why do you remain here? I thought the children finished their communication with their mother, which you promised to avoid."

"I did avoid them speaking with her, and yes, they did finish."

"Then why are you here?"

"For the reason you have already guessed." She indicated the computer. "Say hello."

Saavik did instead. "Hello, Father." She forestalled the next statement. "It's not my real voice."

Amanda smiled. "She changes the speech pattern every time too."

Sarek stared; his eyes looked into the air, weighing this. Then came the voice that had not changed with age in her own time. "Daughter."

She used T'allendil's speech. "Yes, Father. I am here."

"I am aware of it. I merely decided to examine how it would be to say."

"Hearing you use the term has always carried the same touch, Father, that you have found saying it." Actually, the first time Sarek called her it, Saavik had to hold tight control over herself the rest of the day as her thoughts always strayed back to it.

Sarek leaned one hand on the desk and the other on the back of Amanda's chair. "We are not creating an issue with your superior officer with this communication?"

Saavik thought of both her captain's insignia and what Imre had said to her. "I received permission."

Amanda gave him a dark look. "It wasn't a personal call. I contacted her about the children's security."

"Yes, of course. That is naturally a concern for their mother, especially when separated from us all. And as Amanda has already opened this channel, I wish to utilize it for an additional topic. I originally planned to discuss this with the older Spock, but this is more direct. It deals with identifying the saboteur."

She leaned forward. "I'm listening."

"My viewpoint is not that of Starfleet, however, that may be the reason why it gives insight. We already can surmise the children's abductor is not someone we in the family know."

Give insight, indeed. "Because the children were taken at school and not in a straight attack."

Amanda frowned and started to ask, when she saw it herself and for the same reason as her husband. "Someone who knows us would have taken the children at home. It's a Vulcan household, with all of its openness towards guests and the public, but you still can't just walk in. Not even through the garden. Someone would have to let you in and give you access to Setik and the girls."

 _Spock knew Nachson before he arrived at the house. As did Spock's aide who was there that day_. It was how her second officer gained access.

"Those at the house therefore become an obstacle. Nor is the layout available to the public," Sarek said. "It cannot be studied to prepare a direct attack. The difficulty, therefore, in circumventing anyone at the house and its unknown environment makes the home a place he would not attempt. It is not easy, but it is easier, to gain admittance to the children at their school, for all these reasons, so he turned his focus there."

Saavik explained what Setik and the girls had more recently said. Sarek leaned against his folded hands while he listened. "That fits with my own thoughts. I do not believe he is Starfleet, despite the knowledge he displays. I do question how he arrived on board."

Saavik's forehead creased. "Father, I thought you knew. He came through a cargo bay."

He drew the antique chair to the desk again and Amanda moved to the side so he could be more center. "I speak of the details. We are discussing a man doing the following. He successfully removed Setik, T'Kel, and T'Pren from their school and placed them in a large container either there or at ShiKahr's port without being noticed."

An infinitesimal pause before his grandchildren's names was Sarek's only sign of the effect of saying what had been done to them. Amanda's hands gripped her chair for the same reason.

"He then had to take them to be loaded where he then placed himself in another container he had already secured, and move both of these to the proper place. Again, he did so without being viewed. That shows knowledge of the school and the ports. He has lived for some time in ShiKahr, although not necessarily permanently. Finally, he gained access to a starship without officers in the area discovering him."

"I-" Saavik nearly said she had officers which could give away who she was, "—heard we got a red flag about the cargo bay. But just on a weight thing."

Sarek stared at the screen before nodding. "That is the speech change Amanda referred to earlier. Understood. Returning to the discussion, we ask the question, how does this identify the children's abductor? He is not Starfleet."

Saavik remembered to switch again. "You said that already. Why?" She saw it. "He wouldn't put himself in a crate. He'd have no need to. He'd come aboard as himself with temporary orders – forged or otherwise – or impersonate someone on the crew."

He nodded. "He then would conceal himself as he is doing now."

"It fits with my theory." She used Sotraun's vocal pattern. "The logic is sound, although does it aide us in finding the children's abductor? He defies us and continues to display a level of knowledge that is only Starfleet."

Sarek and Amanda exchanged glances. She said, "You deepened your voice."

Understanding dawned on her father's expression. "You use a male's?"

"Yes." Although she had lowered her tone automatically, instead of intentionally.

"Just so. I have an additional suggestion. It is clearly better to capture this man before he strikes. However, if a focused effort has not found him, move the priority to being prepared for his attack. To do so, he will reveal his location and you may move your men to capture him. However, again, if that fails, preparations to minimize his effect may suit you better."

She thought that over. She wanted this man before he could even glance in her children's direction again. Nevertheless, maternal instincts primarily drove that response. If she _thought_ , both the captain _and_ the mother recognized he could run rampant and she may miss it, because she refused to look anywhere but for his hiding place.

"We have already taken several such actions," she answered. "I will keep searching for him, but I – will suggest to the captain," she thought to add, "to give orders focusing on finding his attack points. It may lend to discovering his identity and location as well."

"A sound plan," Sarek agreed and then paused. "With these points completed, we must end this discussion. We take you from your duties."

Saavik found herself acting like her own children, because she unconsciously searched for another question to ask so they wouldn't go away.

He unknowingly pre-empted that. "You cannot function amongst your shipmates if you lose their respect."

Amanda smiled. "That means he's proud of you."

Sarek had that expression that always came from when she deliberately provoked one of her Vulcans. He, Spock, and Saavik amongst themselves would say, "Amanda had one of her conversations with me," and they would all nod in understanding.

"I know he is." That took them aback, but just like with Amanda, Saavik's relationship with Sarek was different than his with Spock, and vice versa. After all, she was a different person with a different connection to them.

"You needn't worry, Father," Saavik said now, choosing a special voice pattern. "I'm used to Mother's ways. After all, she once threatened to push me down a flight of steps."

Sarek eyed Amanda who waved it away. "She must have been very annoying that day. I would never go as far as stairs otherwise. But the voice sounded familiar this time. Is it anyone I know?"

Sarek stood and gazed at her with a certain light. "My wife, she uses yours."

Amanda swung on the computer in stunned surprise. It melted into an immense smile and a twinkle. "Forget my grandchildren, _you_ are evil incarnate! I'm making a note to withhold my approval for you marrying my son."

Saavik's eyes held the same light as both her in-laws. "No, you are not."

"We'll see. Meanwhile, my dear, remember why I called. Sarek and I are watching over the children when they're not with their father. I won't leave them alone." Amanda smiled into the screen. "I already gave you my little message from that song. Anything for us?"

Saavik hadn't planned one, but nothing could be easier. "Yes. One word."

"Which one?"

"Presume."

Amanda's brow furrowed as she tried to delve the hidden meaning from it. "Presume."

Saavik's eyes drifted closed. Hearing that voice say it again after the sixty years she had been gone:

Saavik turned to Amanda wide eyed. "You are saying you love me? I would not presume."

Amanda laid a hand on her wrist. "Presume."

It was a miracle.

"I am certain you will understand why very soon," she finished.

Amanda got up from her chair. "If you can, contact us again before you have to leave."

The screen blanked. Saavik realized it was the last time she'd ever have with Amanda, and the only time as mother and daughter. Neither of them would remember it.

Still a miracle.

She nearly reached her feet when she thought about it: _it's impossible for him to know your ship and us better than you_.

Better than her…

No, the question was: better than all of them?


	13. Chapter 13

USS _CONTACT_ , MAIN CONFERENCE ROOM

Saavik's eyes scanned down the conference table. "We outgun the _Enterprise,_ and even if we did not, I am not going into battle against them. Our priority is to keep everyone of this time alive and unharmed, so they may live the way they are meant."

Stewart, Tran, and Patrik looked into the air as they thought about this latest revelation they had to deal with. Nachson, T'allendil, and Sotraun calmly returned Saavik's gaze, while Bimo did something similar by keeping one ear cocked in her direction. Thalla held back on her anger aimed at the saboteur, pulling on her now braided long hair mixed with red and white cord. Risteárd Imre, of course, ran his own eyes up and down the crew.

"Commander Imre and I know you are ready to fulfill your duty as bridge officers. You will activate the Destruct Sequence with us or in our absence."

Murmurs went down the table. "Yes, Captain."

Jaxon Tran asked, "Our civilians?"

Saavik let her voice grow more solemn because it demanded it. "If we can discover a way to save them, we will. See if the _Enterprise_ believes they can keep them apart from their younger selves and the timeline secure. If so, we beam over the diplomats and their parties. If we cannot," she took a beat, "then we have no more choice than we do with ourselves."

She looked at the man seated to her right. "Mr. Nachson, ensure has all torpedoes are locked in storage. Change protocols so only myself, Command Imre, and you can unlock them. We will each record a new key code after this meeting."

As calm as any Vulcan, he agreed. "Yes, ma'am."

"You need to perform another check of Tactical as well. Look for anything foreign or a scramble of our own system codes. I do not want the station telling us to fire at someone who is not there or not seeing an enemy about to destroy us all."

Patrik looked across the table. "Can that happen?"

Nachson already thought on it and nodded after a second. "If you knew how to access the station's programming."

Saavik turned to her engineer. "Mr. Sotraun, is it possible the saboteur can learn our destruct codes?"

The humans and Andorian muttered, cursed under their breaths, and called down a higher power's wrath on the man. The big, dark Vulcan, however, spoke at the same time and his deep voice drowned them out to a degree. He was new to non-Vulcans, especially so many, and tended to respond instantly as he would if he sat with his own people.

"It is considered impossible by Starfleet Engineering. The reason is his needing to break into your security access, which would mean retina scan and voice recognition. That would only give him the point where he can ask for them. Immediately, he would need two other officers' authorization, which is the same security procedure as yours. As everyone knows, if he attempted to authorize a self-destruct, he would need the recordings of three command officers giving their rank, name, station, and destruct code, with the highest ranking giving the final activation order."

She nearly pointed out the illogic of telling them what they already knew, but Sotraun might have thought the humans or Bimojigar needed the facts for a full report. He would learn; he already did.

"Captain," Imre asked calmly, "could you do it?"

She knew they wanted her to say that she couldn't, that no one could. She looked back at her first officer and told them the truth. "Yes, I could get the codes. Devices are available on the black market that would let me mimic our retina scans. Then it is a simple matter of time to copy the retina scans coded into the ship systems, as well as running a program that records our conversations until I have the right words to create the request for the destruct codes. It is something most people here could do. Mr. Nachson most likely knows about the retina devices as well."

He nodded.

"T'allendil and Sotraun could write the program. Anyone here who did not know these things already could discover how to do it."

 _This man clearly has been planning this for years._

It wouldn't take years to do what she just said. "Has it ever been tested to see if a recording works equal to a live voice?"

No one knew and that bothered them. This went way beyond someone hiding and they couldn't find him.

"Sotraun, rewrite those codes."

"Captain, they are hardcoded by Starfleet."

"Then the way exists to install new ones."

Tran interrupted. "Just because you could do it, Captain, doesn't mean the saboteur can. And!" He stopped anyone from answering his first point with that _and_. He stabbed a finger on the table in his excitement.

 _Not excitement_ , Saavik knew. Frustration, anger.

"And! If he could, we can still override it! Ma'am," he interrupted one last time. "You know these computers as well as T'allendil and Sotraun. And you have more experience. Are the systems that unsophisticated that a recording could fool them?"

She thought it through. "People have been fooled time and time again." _Spock stole the_ Enterprise _by using a recording of Captain Kirk's voice_. We will need to safeguard ourselves against it. However, your point is valid. The computers are far from unsophisticated and they are meant to detect such details. It would need something more advanced than the ship's systems. A living machine if you will."

She knew such a sentient being served in Starfleet right now; Dr. Stewart might know about him too since he had been written up in several bio-mechanical texts. However, Saavik doubted the saboteur was an android or even had access to anyone like Lieutenant Data. It did not fit the small collection of facts they had.

She had said she wanted to do paranoia well, not fall into a true state of it. "I agree, Mr. Tran. We use our time more efficiently in different pursuits. I would," she informed her engineer, "want a test done to answer this question for our own knowledge. In the meantime, T'allendil has her report. I am granting access to the reference material to all of you, but it remains confidential outside this group."

She gestured to her science officer and the small Vulcan touched a control and the large screen on the opposite wall switched from a ship layout to a big blue planet. Patrik and the others who faced the large observation windows turned their chairs to the screen.

T'allendil spoke, her prominent cheekbones and jawline catching the lights from above. "One of the nearby systems is Frubria III. Its inhabitants are human and descendants of the Thonoe colony. Following a forty-three percent loss of life due to predators, environmental factors, and failures of two ships, colonists voted for experimentation with the focus on suspended animation."

Saavik told her, "Display resulting technology on the holographic projector."

The conference table's center 3D projector showed a small black band, curved slightly, with a sensor pad on one side and minute controls on the other. The whole length and width of it would fit in an average human palm.

Bimojigar touched the display and sound impulses that resonated as a mere hum to everyone else made her head move as if she looked around the image in a full circle. Tactile information played along her hand until she pulled it back and nodded. She had it.

T'allendil picked up again. "The colonists removed the mindlessness and the mechanistic theory of natural selection. This device," she enlarged, "works in conjunction with the physical adaptations."

"Wait." Nachson jerked a thumb at the miniature instrument. "That little thing is basically a stasis chamber?"

Frances Stewart blurted, "How? Look, we have chambers for a reason. They have to constantly maintain everything that causes stasis. Effecting the vagal nerve, creating the mammalian diving reflex, increased hydrogen sulfide production – that little thing can't create the _environment_ that puts us in stasis."

"No, it does not," Saavik answered, "which is the source of our critical situation now. T'allendil will make the full report available, however the result was a population with a natural ability for suspended animation, similar to a deeper form of hibernation. The device in front of you only delivers the biological trigger to produce those natural reactions Dr. Stewart listed."

Sotraun turned the device's display so it rotated in front of those gold, searching eyes. Frances watched, everyone did, and her voice resonated with her doctor's sense of disgust and wonderment. "They're living stasis chambers. How many people died in those experiments to make this happen?"

"A quarter of the population. They considered it a valid price for the results."

Thalla sat up straighter in her chair. Not as much as Saavik, Sotraun, or T'allendil, but it was hard to sit or stand straighter than a Vulcan. Saavik could hear McCoy's comment, "Who would want to?"

The Andorian started to speak when she noticed Jaxon Tran across from her, sitting forward and nearly slapping the table. "That's how he's evading us."

"Possibly." Saavik indicated a miniscule readout and setting controls on the black band. "The idea that he is not Starfleet also lends itself well to this theory. Frubia is a neutral world, not a member of the Federation, so no one from there may join the fleet. However, we have a problem with my theory."

T'allendil looked up from her computer readout. "Scans still have found no one. I lowered the heartrate to 1 bpm without a change in results."

"Run the total count and species count again." They came back the same as they always had. Saavik's eyes narrowed as she looked down at the conference table. She spoke nearly to herself. "Frubria III is still our most likely answer. Computer, display Frubrian generational banks."

Stacked black boxes with slowly changing indicator lights ran in rows in a cavernous space, like something from an old holovid.

Saavik looked around her staff. "You are seeing the next forty generations of the Frubrian people. When one is born, so to speak, another generation is created and stored."

Nachson's mouth quirked. "How romantic."

T'allendil answered. "You may still select a consort. You may not, however, have children with them or with anyone else. Any progeny is created through the system."

Imre shot Kyle a look. "There's always a catch. What's the reason?"

Saavik replied, "Originally, a limited gene pool. They created a system with the best odds of survival. Once other humans arrived to expand the population, it remained the preferred method. Genetic material is harvested at puberty. The relevant point is this: if you were to travel outside your own time, you risk?"

Thalla sh'Shytral sent her antennae almost straight up. "Destroying yourself. Which destroys everything you've done."

Saavik nodded. "And yet, our saboteur exhibits no such fear. If he is Frubrian, it would answer that question. These," she swept a hand at the generational bank, "are replicated in fifteen other locations — possibly more, the Federation does not know. Their security rivals Starfleet Command. No matter what happens on this mission, the next thousand years of the population will be born including our saboteur. You would have to destroy the planet and, even then, we believe they have offworld sites."

Sotraun nodded. "It is no guarantee, however, it gives him high odds."

Thalla leaned forward. "So he is already in his planet's system. With backups of himself on top of it."

Saavik agreed. "And he will go through his scheduled in utero growth to coincide with his slated birthdate."

Kyle Nachson grinned and shook his head. "Why not? Better than my mom and dad, whoever they were." He glanced at Bimo at his right. He always tried to sit next to the communications officer and leaned close to her. It gave another way to fit her eusocial needs. Tran sat on the other side of her for the same reason; she had once remarked they gave off the most body heat. "How about it, Bimo? Sound like home at all? You have a group mentality with children, right?"

She brushed against his shoulder in lieu of something like meeting his eyes when she answered. "It is not like us at all. A Sozon queen mates with all the males to produce children."

Imre shot Patrik, Thalla, and Stewart a laughing look. "That got some interest around the table."

Frances, grinning, shook her head at him, knowing what came next in Bimo's explanation.

"You are correct that we all raise the pups together, but we do not plan out the generations. Our queen has whatever children she is pregnant with, three to twelve at a time. The record is twenty-eight."

The men held in laughter at Kamila and Thalla's pale expressions. Sotraun, of course, did not laugh with Kyle, Jaxon, or Risteárd, although he did note, as a statement of fact, that it appeared to be a good life for the Sozon males. That got grumbles under the women's breaths.

Saavik meanwhile kept watch over her science officer's efforts; the other Vulcan entered one thing into the computer, waited, cleared, and entered something else.

"T'allendil?"

She lifted her head. "No, Captain. Scans fail to find any sign of the saboteur. I have tried every parameter we have considered, including those from our original searches. We know the equipment is sound through the confirmation by the _Enterprise_ and both Spocks."

Saavik's eyes narrowed down at the table again. She flicked back up. "Set your scans to run automatically. They are to notify us if the counts ever change. _If_ he is Frubrian and in stasis, he will awaken which will increase our count. However, we must take another approach as well."

"Captain, before we do that or as we do that, could this man be dead?" Imre asked. "Maybe he put himself too far into stasis and he couldn't recover."

Tran pushed his long fingers into his blonde hair. "It'd explain why our searches haven't found him. We have everyone tearing apart their departments, their cabins, and the cargo bays. But if he's dead, it could be awhile before we find the body."

Stewart licked her lip, pulling it between her teeth. "What if he used something with his natural ability, hoping to throw off the scans even more? Instead of just reducing his vitals, he went into a full suspended animation. Or what if he woke up and tried something? Then, like Risteárd said, maybe he just got himself killed."

Nachson drummed his fingers in a couple hard taps. "Wherever he's from and however the hell he's managing to hide, I want to know how this guy is smarter than us. How does he know – Ops better than Thalla, for example? Yeah, he makes changes, but ones that we can't find?"

T'allendil agreed. "It is also interesting that he was able to do something so involved as affect the Conn, but he could not use that same security access to come on board with the children."

Saavik's head leaned towards her shoulder.

This man clearly has been planning this for years.

Remember this: this man is not smarter than you, he is not better than you…

The saboteur out thought them, not just one of them, but all of them. He outwitted her officers, he outwitted her. He had changed multiple systems: engineering, helm, and navigation at a minimum. How had she even allowed that, someone accessing those stations? Had she given control to this person to perform those changes or had Security failed that far?

I do not believe he is Starfleet, despite the knowledge he displays.

At some point, we stood there and waved this guy through to every part of the ship he wanted to tear apart.

Her head straightened. "It is his job to know this ship so well and it was his function to change those systems."

Chairs snapped up around the table and eyes did the same thing, each pair watching her. "Captain?" Imre asked.

"How did he get on board to make these changes? Why did we allow him to access those stations and for so long? It is too large a task for him to simply steal on the ship, make his modifications, and leave. Computer," she ordered, "access records for the _Contact_ 's refit."

Imre jumped down from his seat and dashed around the table to her side, too excited to stay seated across from her. "He came here with the refit team!"

"Most likely, Commander, he _belonged_ to it. Computer, crosscheck the saboteur's description with members of the refit team. He cannot," she said to her crew, "out think us all. He is not more intelligence than us. He appears so because he worked on multiple areas. Amanda told me to remember the man had years to do this. Most likely, she meant it as an exaggeration. She was right, however. From its planning stages to its completion, the refit spanned two point one three years. We were most likely not his first target. We simply were the better one for access to Sarek's family and this man has still worked on his plan after the _Contact_ was done."

The computer's voice reported, "Twenty-one refit personnel match the given physical description."

More puzzle pieces flipped themselves over and turned the right away. "Narrow results for those who served minimally on teams for Conn, Ops, and Engineering."

"Three personnel remain."

What else? What more did he know? "Eliminate anyone not living on Vulcan, specifically the ShiKahr city limits, after the refit."

One more person was removed and Saavik asked for the two remaining to be displayed. At the same time, she asked that it search for any records indicating a strong interest in Kirk's ship and the original five-year mission.

But before the computer answered that, she knew. She pointed. "That is him."

Her first officer stood at her shoulder and took hold of her chair arm in his excitement. "What makes you so sure?"

"He is a civilian. A civil engineer." They locked gazes.

Imre looked like he didn't know which of his reactions should dominate. "The only type of person with the knowledge of a Starfleet engineer."

Tran's hands clasped into a hammer. "Without the continuing Security access of one. He lost his clearance to everything about Starfleet on Vulcan when the refit was over. He could have gotten it extended, but he'd have to justify it-"

"To me," Saavik finished. _Taushan Rhinar_. She did not make illogical, silent threats or pronouncements. She moved after him. "Bimojigar, transmit his image to Ambassador Spock and have the children confirm our suspicions. Tran, there is one more reason why he may not be showing on the scans after awakening from stasis. We must eliminate that possibility. You and Dr. Stewart will again form teams to search the crew. Release Rhinar's image to all personnel and have them help you search. Include variations to coloring and species that he could easily mimic. From this point, no one is to be in a group less than three. Issue the orders but remain here in the event of further information."

Her crew frowned to varying degrees as they tried to work it out. She started to explain when they said it themselves.

T'allendil first. "We did the physical check when we first arrived. However, he could have awakened after it and took action before our next scan."

Thalla watched Tran's hands tighten. "He could have taken action by killing someone in the crew and taking their place. Our scans wouldn't pick up the dead body," she said.

Saavik reminded them, "We do not know if this has happened. We are confirming it did not. If it did, he is most likely not disguised as another species, but we will take the precaution."

Nachson finished it and Saavik didn't miss his looking to Thalla for the second time. "Because if he took out one of the Andorians, just as an example, we'd be missing an Andorian on the scan count and we'd have an extra human. He'd have to take out someone like me to agree with the scans."

"Or," Saavik reminded them again, "he is still in stasis." _Or he has killed a human by now and hides there_. "We will find out. Now, for the systems. Computer, access records for all requisitions made by Taushan Rhinar. Let us see what exactly he replaced."

But they hit another wall. "Cannot comply with request. Requisitions were made to the 40 Eridani-A Starfleet Shipyards and fulfilled by their stores. All records are contained at the construction yards and are not in the USS _Contact_ databases."

Saavik silenced the complaints immediately. "Computer, do we have detailed records on individual refit team members and their work?"

"Confirmed."

The complaints turned to celebration and she quieted those too. "Report for Taushan Rhinar and detailed listing of his work."

The silence grew very loud as the extensive list scrolled by. Kamila Patrik finally broke it. "Even though we knew it, it makes me sick to see it. Everything in the helm, everything in the navigation, both the main bridge and the battle." She cursed.

Sotraun gazed at her in confusion. "It is not a negative thing. We now know what we must replace and repair."

"Captain," T'allendil called and halted the report. She indicated a place in the middle. "Rhinar worked with the computer core as well as Science I and II. We found no symptoms of sabotage in those stations and this report does not give a detailed analysis as it did for the others."

Saavik's eyebrows pushed tight together. "He stayed only a minimum of time at each of them."

Imre nearly spun her chair around towards him because he pulled excitedly on the arm. "Captain, _you_ changed those interfaces. You put your own modifications to them and _you_ worked personally with the staff in building them. He didn't know your specs to place whatever sabotage he had in mind, and he couldn't stay around to learn them because he'd run into _you_. It would have meant standing right next to you as he disrupted the systems! So he bolted to the next thing on his list."

If she had been there for every station—

No, she did herself an injustice. She _had_ been there for it all, for every second with the refit team as they worked together to make the _Contact_ one harmonizing system. She could name every chip and where it was placed. Percentage by percentage ("It's at 98%, ma'am, and that's damned good when you consider we've put in those Vulcan modifications and yours — Yes, Captain. All right, everyone, it's going to be 100% or none of you see home again!").

They had all been there for it; she brought Imre in first, their initial work together, and then each of the command crew to see their systems 'grow up', until they took the _Contact_ out of dock and out into the stars.

Not knowing Rhinar got in there before them and had already contaminated their ship.

"Then we are fortunate," Saavik said, "that Starfleet Engineering allowed my modifications as a test for new designs. However, our focus is the list of what is affected."

Sotraun rumbled. "We return to a much earlier point. We cannot deduce which particular assemblies are affected. It has been an issue since our arrival here. All systems show normal even when we see the sabotage activated."

Thalla looked over her shoulder to Patrik. "We're going to have to pull _every_ chip, every pack—"

Nachson spoke up. "Wait a minute. We talked about worm programs and everything like that. Okay. What if – could he have done something at a more basic level? Like we went to these new isolinear chips—"

Kamila frowned. "You think it wouldn't have happened with the older systems?"

"Nah, I think it would've. I'm just saying _any_ chip and mechanism speaks its own language that we don't."

Saavik put a hand down in front of him, knowing he'd understand what it meant. She took in her science officer and engineer. "It is possible."

They both agreed, T'allendil going first. "You are correct, Commander. All systems speak a base language that we translate in our interacting equipment. Your suggestion is, could the affected systems be reporting their sabotaged states and we do not see it because our equipment is reprogrammed to translate it as a normal status?"

Sotraun explained it could be done, one central databank with the corrupted programming feeding out throughout the ship. They may also be lucky because the computer core itself was clear. If they found the infected programming, they could rebuild from the core.

Tran asked, "Aren't the tricorders and the other diagnostic equipment separate the systems?"

Saavik answered it. "Their operating systems still feed from the ship's systems as well as their connectivity. He only needed to trigger an operating update to infect them as well. Fortunately, we can clean those from the core as well. First, we need to ascertain we are correct. Sotraun, T'allendil, that falls to you and your staff. Second, I want work to begin even if we are pulling each chip. We can always replace them if we find them clean." She stopped. "We start with the battle bridge."

That earned her another round of stunned looks.

"Captain," Imre asked, "surely we want the main bridge operating the way it should first?"

"Normally, I would agree. Not today, Commander. My order stands."

He stared back at her for a second and then did his job. "You heard her. Get your staff together and get to the battle bridge."

The computer chimed and Bimojigar took it. "Captain, communication from the _Enterprise_. It's Ambassador Spock. He's alone."

Imre motioned to the crew. "Give them the room."

Spock appeared on the main screen. "Unnecessary, Commander. I must be quick. The children have identified Taushan Rhinar as the man who abducted them this morning."

Tran spoke down to his folded hands. "Poor kids," he said mostly to himself.

Spock, however, heard him. So did his captain. "We appreciate your thoughts, Mr. Tran. My next point regards the conference between the command staffs. Captain Kirk asks the officers of the USS _Contact_ to come to the _Enterprise_."

Rejuvenated, they snapped up in their chairs, even Sotraun and T'allendil uplifted by the idea.

Frances Stewart went from Spock to Saavik. "Can we do that?"

He answered, "With limitations. You are aware of what they are," he said to his wife.

No one had noticed Saavik had none of the reaction they did. "I am," she replied evenly.

People started catching on, starting with her husband. "Saavik…"

"I know, Spock." And she did. "I am no different."

"Of course." His head dipped; so did his voice. "Inform us when your landing party is ready."

She didn't give anyone a chance to ask, but called out a command. "Wardrobe."

A strong, beautiful woman came up on the screen. Her heavy mass of dark, cornrow braids showed no gray at all despite her entering middle-age. They were currently piled on the top of her head, as she always did while on duty, with only a few decoratively hanging down around a face two shades a lighter brown than her hair.

"Suppo here," she said in a deep voice flavored with a light, French Caribbean accent.

The Supply and Stores department was her domain. No starship could run without it: her people were in charge of anything related to feeding the crew, as well as rec areas and all entertainment matters, the ship's stores, barbershops, and the list went on. In historical times, they were described as the local version of a hardware store, repair parts warehouse, fashion and beauty shop, quick service and sit down restaurants, laundromat, and convenience store, all rolled into one. She even shared gray areas with Engineering such as the stocks of spare parts for requisitions in the other areas under her net of responsibilities.

She also commanded Wardrobe, from uniforms to clothing needed for special functions to anything an away team might need to blend in with their surroundings. That was why Saavik contacted her now.

"You need to replicate the era specific uniforms for our bridge crew as you did for Ambassador Spock."

"I anticipated that, Captain." Her real name was Commander Celestine Lemelle, but when her love for tradition discovered the officers like her were called 'Suppo' in Earth history, she respectfully asked Saavik if she could use it. The lovely accent from her home on Earth's San Ines reflected her pleasure in the work they were doing. "We have the patterns, and we created a ship's emblem to go along with their standard department ones. We ready to outfit the bridge or anybody else in the crew. But you, Captain, need to come down. Yours is special."

Saavik frowned, something going on both sides of the table, some also wondering what _ship's emblem_ meant. "I do not see why."

"Then we'll go over a little history lesson when you're here. What else do you need?"

"Equipment, period tricorders and communicators. They have additional equipment as well such as readers. I will need three of those. Either check our own records or verify with the _Enterprise_ for specifications on what an away team will need." She paused deliberately. "That includes phasers and phaser rifles. Commander Tran will be contacting you with details."

"Yes, ma'am." People rushed about behind her and the noise grew.

"Suppo," Saavik began.

"Happiness, Captain," was the answer with a broad smile included. "Happy, professional people getting a pleasurable challenge. That's what you see and hear. We don't get this sort of opportunity often, so we're seizing it with both hands. And for all of you," she addressed the rest of the table, "you'll find your new uniforms waiting in your quarters. And I hope you've been using the gyms, because these things show every pound."

She stepped back with her arms swept out gracefully, showing off her large build. Her head was held high, confident in being beautiful. "I'm glad I'm not wearing one of them." And she laughed. "Suppo out."

The channel didn't cut off before they heard her calling "show me again that piece of beauty waiting for the captain. And we're going to need hair styles for everyone!"

Saavik suspected the channel was deliberately kept open so they heard her.

Tran fought a smile. It helped in facing the news around their saboteur again. "What details am I giving Suppo?"

"Create three teams, all human, in the event they must go to the _Enterprise_. Have them properly outfitted. Contact your counterpart on the _Enterprise_ for ship's layout and other details you and your people need to know. Your remaining personnel will work with Medical in the search we discussed."

"Captain, why would we send Security to the _Enterprise?_ "

"As stated, we need to keep everyone on board there alive and well. If an incident arises, we must meet it, not them. In addition, we return to Ambassador Sarek being of interest to the saboteur or at least he appears to be. That interest includes the children."

 _Possibly Amanda and Spock._

Her chief understood and confirmed getting the proper equipment. She then informed them of the thirty-minute break she planned to give them; they protested they didn't need it until Imre told them to wait.

Saavik placed her steepled hands on the conference table and leaned forward towards her crew. "I am aware of what this opportunity to go to the _Enterprise_ means. I do not take that lightly. However, it is not a personal excursion. It is a mission, one we make while this ship needs its leaders as well, to repair the damage to it and to time. It makes for two strong motivations that Mr. Imre and I will answer. Regardless of who is in the away team, I want all of you in period uniform. Those who will leave the ship will confirm your replacements are also properly dressed. We will give you notice of our decisions immediately."

A few protested against the break again, but Imre broke into it. "Captain Saavik and I are not calling you weak or incapable by giving you this half hour. Go get your staffs together over the repairs and anything else the captain asked of you. Then get dinner, go to your quarters, take a shower, get dressed in the new uniforms, study how to use these tricorders and communicators, and the time's done. You'll be glad for it later. Now excuse us, I need to speak with the captain."

He walked back to his chair slowly and took equal time in taking the seat. By that time, the room cleared.

He sat like she did, hands out, and on the edge of his chair. For some reason, that made her move back into hers.

He licked his lips, not nervously, but simply preparing to talk. "I'm aware of your – Herculean sense of duty."

"And you have none?"

"Yes, in fact, I do. It's why I understand." He slid his hands together slowly. He kept his eyes on them. "I understand what it's saying to you. I understand what just happened between you and the ambassador."

Her eyes narrowed. "Be careful, Commander."

He held his hands up. "I'm not prying or interfering. I'd never. I appreciate privacy almost as much as you."

She said nothing, just waited. If he thought this quiet approach would change her mind, he was wrong.

He lifted his head. "Captain, go to the _Enterprise_. Go to your family and the people you know and value. Be in the same room with your children. Listen! Please, just listen. Under normal circumstances, I'd agree."

"The circumstances do not change it."

"Yes, they do! I'm your first officer, and I don't need to tell you what the responsibilities are. The _Contact_ needs you here, so I would normally lead the away team for you. But I can't go to the _Enterprise_. I don't fit their norm. So I stay here no matter what. So you should lead that away team! The _Contact_ doesn't need us both!"

"It most certainly does."

"So you would tell me that I'd be wrong for leaving the ship with the away team if I could?"

Saavik sat with perfect poise. "I stand corrected. I would not think it of you."

"Good." The pause hung over them. "Captain, no one would think it of you either."

"It does not make it right."

"Did it ever occur to you that your completely wrong? You're the captain of this ship! No one embodies it more than you do, it's an extension of you. If someone should represent it, and what we're facing in this situation, to Kirk and the _Enterprise_ , it should be you. Maybe you should even consider that they might get insulted if you ignore their invitation and don't beam over."

She got up with the same, easy pace he had earlier. She didn't speak until she was next to his chair. "Nachson will lead the away team. Have Bimojigar contact the _Enterprise_ and inform them we are preparing our party and that our people are beaming over." He started to argue again. "Commander, I am, as you said, the captain of this ship. That holds responsibilities I cannot break. As I told our crew, we must balance what needs to be done here and there. That is all."

"You're wrong."

"I am not."

He muttered _stubborn, stubborn, stubborn_ under his breath. "Can you tell me why the battle bridge?"

"Of course. We have a crew complement of seven hundred and three. However, replicating the slingshot effect does not require the full number, not with the specialty nature of it and its short term. The trip also holds a higher threat factor to it, meaning we are risking lives we do not have to risk, and that is before we factor in the diplomatic parties. Hence, the battle bridge being made capable to return to our own time while the main bridge may or may not be ready."

"Right. Of course," he agreed evenly. That dropped in the next statement. "I know what your sense of duty is planning for that trip. We're going to fight about it. I'm just letting you know as your first officer."

"Then I have been warned." Saavik watched him turn his chair to stand up. He was everything she thought he would be; he had been her second choice, but he proved to be the best one. "Mr. Imre," she surprised him. "Your thoughts about my being with the away team… they are appreciated. As was the time with Amanda and the children."

His mouth opened, but nothing came out. He settled for the right thing: a simple, respectful, "Ma'am."

"And now, with everything that needs our attention, I am apparently needed in Wardrobe for a uniform fitting."

"I have to go with you." He forestalled her. "You said no one travels in a group less than three. We're still in violation since it's the two of us, but better than you alone. Don't forget, you're part of Sarek's family and the saboteur knows that. Besides, I want to see what Suppo is talking about. We can stop by Torpedo Control."


	14. Chapter 14

Robin Curtis is coming to my town! ROBIN'S COMING HERE IN A COUPLE WEEKS! I so wish I had finished this in time, but I decided to print a Volume 1 of what I have so far and get her autograph on it! Just felt like sharing that.

* * *

USS _Enterprise_ , Bridge

His rear never touched the seat because Kirk got immediately to his feet again. His brain locked on to the sight on the main viewscreen.

The _Contact_ 's captain was a _woman_.

A very attractive woman.

Starfleet didn't have women captains in this time.

And Vulcan.

Other than the erstwhile _Intrepid_ , no Vulcan commanded a starship.

No Vulcan period commanded a strongly mixed crew with a large number of non-Vulcans.

And that uniform…

Because of no women captains, she uniquely wore a command green dress that had to be designed for her. It… drew attention. The V-neckline plunged perhaps a little farther than his - or he imagined it did, but with the same thin line of black showing. His tunic wrapped around his waist, but hers secured around her hips with her ship's emblem. She had the same gold piping around the entire wrapped section and neck, plus the captain's stripes on her sleeves. Then the same black stockings down her long legs meeting the higher heeled boots women wore.

The _Contact_ 's emblem appeared to be a takeoff of the old broadcasting towers on Earth, with the transmission waves coming off the top of the command insignia, which lay inside a circle and an orbiting ring.

Not that he looked closely.

"Your captain," Kirk said under his breath in an aside to the older Spock, "is…"

He missed the younger Spock's appreciation and the very male look that the older one managed to aim at his wife with no one noticing.

"Yes, she is." Spock suddenly narrowed his eyes at _that_ tone and the way it appreciatively drew off, but Kirk didn't see that either.

The younger Spock talked without knowing it. "A Vulcan female…"

The whirring sound of a Feinberger snapped his attention back to the bridge. "Dr. McCoy, what is your purpose with this scan?"

McCoy smirked. "Checking your pulse rate and respiration. I got concerned noticing your reaction."

Kirk heard that old exasperation in his first officer's voice. "Doctor, it is simply interesting to see someone of one's own kind reach an achievement that previously belonged solely to another group. The captain of the _Contact_ has done so twice over, both for her gender and for her being Vulcan."

"Uh huh. You know she can hear you."

His head swung to the screen again and he sounded defensive. "You understand, Captain, I meant no offense."

Her dark eyes looked back at him calmly. "You need not be concerned. I am familiar with such comments from Dr. McCoy. Your statement, in fact, honored me, and I understand the thought. It is why I tell you two hundred and ninety-four Vulcans serve on the _Contact_ , including those of mixed blood."

"I…" the hesitation spoke of how much that affected him, "am gratified by these facts of our future."

Kirk gave her one of his best smiles and strode closer to the main screen to introduce himself. "James T. Kirk, captain of the _Enterprise_."

She walked towards the screen like he had. She moved with both grace and confidence, all _female_ and _captain_. She dipped her head like a bow. "It is my privilege. Saavik, captain of the _Contact_."

Kirk usually went for blondes with big blue eyes; that didn't mean he couldn't appreciate the waves of dark curls around her shoulders, in a style simpler than some of the women wore.

McCoy leaned over his shoulder and whispered, "Jim, your mouth is hanging open."

No, it wasn't, but Kirk took Bones' point. His smile became professional. "Spock said you needed to talk, that you had a message for me."

"Yes, I do. An unfortunate one." Even with the emotional disciplines, she conveyed she honestly regretted what she was going to say. "I will not be beaming over with my officers. I have a saboteur in concealment and I have the damage he has done to my ship."

Kirk heard the sound of a true captain in those words: the _Contact_ was hers like the _Enterprise_ was his.

"Commander Imre, my first officer, would do well in seeing to our efforts in my place, but as you know, we do not have first officers to avoid duty."

"No, we don't." For the first time, he thought about it from her viewpoint and what it had to be like over there. "It's a shame you won't be with your party. I would have liked a chance to talk face to face, but... I understand. I'd do the same. Any real captain would."

She nodded in appreciation for his thoughtfulness.

"Spock – your Mr. Spock," her eyebrows seemed to lift at that, "tells me you've made progress."

"We have. I will tell you in full when you convene in your briefing room. Allow me a minimal amount of time to meet with my officers before they transport to your ship. My communications officer will then connect me with the conference."

"We'll talk then. Oh-" he stopped her from signing off. "You said your first officer was Commander… Imre?"

"Yes. Unfortunately, he does not meet the current Starfleet requirements, so he cannot attend either. We thought to show myself when I do not meet captaincy standards was sufficient for the moment. Perhaps later."

"I hope so, although I'm glad Starfleet continues to diversify."

She started to say something when she suddenly looked down at herself. "Yes, of course. The uniform."

He wondered if someone had stared at her in it or did she take the diversification comment to a logical conclusion: a woman captain and her dress? "What about it?"

But it wasn't that. "It appears non-regulation. However, my Wardrobe department assured me Starfleet Command has authorized the creation of any necessary designs, in both my time and yours."

Kirk pretended to look at the Spocks while he tried to decide if smiling gave the wrong message. He figured a small one, captain to captain, was fine. "I honestly wasn't worried about it. It's understandable, regulation or not."

The older Spock interjected. "In fact, the uniform suits you well."

She gave him a raised brow look as Kirk decided it was best to leave it there. Especially with McCoy picking his jaw up off the floor over Spock ever saying such a thing. "We'll talk soon. Kirk out."

He always agreed that it was unfair Starfleet didn't allow for women captains. Janice Lester had tortured and punished him over it. He wished she could see this woman in command of her bridge.

Saavik walked into Stewart's office and froze in the doorway lest she'd get run over. The compact blond woman that was her Chief Medical Officer buzzed around grabbing things like she packed for an extended stay on the _Enterprise_. Her captain quietly lowered a duffel bag on a chair out of the way for now.

Frances' entire face was taken up by her smile. "I am so excited by this. I can't believe we have this opportunity in the middle of all this mess." She handed Saavik the tricorder from her things. "Look at that! Did you ever work with that model?"

Saavik's eyes took on a soft life as she took the black box in her hands. Yes, she had known this model, when she'd traded her knife for Spock's tricorder on Hellguard. It had seemed like a marvel, a device that would tell her things. It started everything to which she dedicated her life. Humans joked about operating something blindfolded, but Saavik could truly work her old device as blind as Bimojigar. She had kept hers for years until it was lost on the _Grissom_.

But that was private and not what the doctor meant anyway. "Starfleet no longer used it when I entered the Academy. In fact, I used three different models by the time I was first assigned to Vulcan."

After Genesis.

She put the tricorder down on the desk and noticed the set of large Vulcan six-sided die in the back corner, inside its _tejQ_ game board with raised edges. She knew T'Selis, a healer close to the family, had given this as a gift to her first human friend. The dice were carved with Vulcan script and a set of dots representing a cardinal number since Frances still learned Vulcan. Stewart had talked about taking T'allendil up on her offer to play so she'd get better. She must have been serious – about being tired of losing to T'Selis.

Saavik nearly picked up a die, not to throw, but to hold. It wasn't one of her favorite games, but the children learned the youth's version. Somehow, it would… connect her to them. In the end, she didn't give into the impulse.

Frances checked a portable kit with a complement of medical tools used in this time period. She especially checked the hypospray and the serum ampoules.

Saavik watched her snap the cover closed and secure it on her hip. "Why are you taking a medkit to a starship with a fully functioning Sickbay?"

Frances glanced down at it. "I'm bringing what they won't have. Medicine's changed."

"Stewart—"

"Don't worry, I'll be careful. But if something comes up that they haven't seen before or even if the person's not what they've seen before, I'm ready."

Saavik read between the lines. Only three people with McCoy were anything he hadn't seen already. "I am not sending you to the _Enterprise_ to check on my children."

She got a smile. "I didn't say you were."

"Dr. McCoy is an excellent physician."

Frances plopped down into her chair. "Nobody better. What does he call the kids' biological makeup?"

Saavik's lips thinned. "Genetic soup."

"Right. You know, he told me once that he used to feel uncertain back then – well, now – when he treated Vulcans. Twisted Vulcan systems and – what was it?"

Her captain held on to calm. "Crazy Vulcan readings that he was unsure he trusted. It is his humor - it is how he handles situations."

"Yep, and if I thought of all this, you definitely did. So what's in the bag?"

She'd better leave that unanswered. "Dr. McCoy has recently performed heart surgery on Sarek. My children are in good hands. Spock would have said if it were otherwise."

"That's true too."

"Doctor," she told Stewart firmly, "you are a Starfleet officer, so am I. I do not send you to check on my children."

Frances pushed up from the chair. "No, I'm going because I have information to share and see what I can do to help. And if I happen to stop by and see the kids, it's a bonus."

 _Is that a lie for my sake?_ At least partially. After all, Stewart knew McCoy, so meeting him now held less attraction than for the rest of the away team. She said that out loud.

"Captain, are you serious? A chance to see McCoy in charge of his Sickbay? No one would miss that, any more than you would miss out on the chance to be on that bridge if duty didn't keep you here. Spock's old science station? Kirk's command chair? At least you'd get to talk to them personally."

 _My being near Spock's younger self is actually a danger._ Because if they got close enough, he'd recognize the part of him she mentally carried as part of their bond.

But Stewart still talked, "Come on, that would be amazing for you. Plus, I have this new information on our saboteur to discuss, and the toll this situation can take on the mindsets of both crews. Like you said, it's not a social visit. Although if one of us has the blues, I'm sending them to Wardrobe to absorb the atmosphere. It's like Fair days back home down there! Suppo says they're the only department having a good day. Now the away t— landing party is too."

She finished loading data into the old style tricorder, then she turned it around in her hands to look at it from all sides. She had the Feinberger out and scanned down her body when Saavik spoke gently.

"Frances."

Stewart's head snapped to her at the sound of her first name. Saavik took a step closer. "It is the _Enterprise_. I understand the impact it has for you."

Because Frances Stewart was one of five survivors of the _Enterprise-_ C who Captain Garrett sent to Vulcan with a dying Saavik. Now, to go aboard an _Enterprise_ again when everyone she knew and loved on her ship was killed at Narendra III defending the Klingons.

But Stewart shook her head slightly and sadly. "It's not my _Enterprise_. It's like I told you before, there're more memories here on the _Contact_ than over there." Since the _Contact_ was the same class ship. "I also said I'm very glad for the refit because now it doesn't look like my _Enterprise_ anymore. I don't wait around for Dr. Aristide to come out of his office or Captain Garrett to come down saying we have an alien I need to talk to." She shook her head again, this time with a little sad smile. "I always got the aliens. It's how I got you."

And passed her on to T'Selis' care, starting that friendship.

Saavik said nothing. She simply stood near the doctor and gave her time to live the memory. In another moment, Frances gave a real smile with just the background of it affected by her loss.

"I promised you before and I'm saying it again now. If any of that changes or if their name being _Enterprise_ starts to affect me, I'll let you know and we'll send someone to replace me. Shame it can't be Ssaalz. It would be a great learning experience all around. In the meantime, I'm going. I'll see how the kids are mentally and physically because I'm concerned about their mentalities with all they've been through. Then I'll give the information we have on Frubria along with T'allendil. They'll be a new set of eyes. I'm hoping we'll figure out how we're still missing this man on our scans. Now then, bag." She held out a hand.

Saavik prepared to deny it again when Stewart interrupted her. "Saavik, haven't you considered that McCoy will be glad you sent me prepped for the kids? You think he likes having things on his scans he doesn't know or how they might affect Setik and the girls? He could ask us for the information or have Spock get it, but this way, he not only gets the data he wants but someone with practical experience with it too. That's something Spock doesn't have. Think about it, what would the McCoy you know say?"

 _"Don't be so damned Vulcan and send me something I'll understand. I feel like I'm looking at their readings upside down. Do you know how many admirals would send me the whole damned fleet if their kids were in my Sickbay? Don't quote your husband either. He's there with them, it's different for him. So send that doctor or else. Conduct becoming an officer, my ass."_

Saavik gave into the maternal instinct. "You have their records?"

"On the tricorder. The Romulan elements have no names attached, but all readouts, base levels, all of it is there. Thankfully you keep a copy of their records in the system."

Since Stewart obviously wasn't their pediatrician and normally would not have their documents; but the children did come on board occasionally and their mother didn't want wasted time waiting for files if an emergency happened.

Saavik nodded and reached back for the duffel. "You can give this to Spock."

Stewart's face and hands burrowed into the bag. "Whoever sees them first. What are these?" She pulled out one of the black and red readers, looking slightly like a tricorder. Saavik began to show her how to use it when Frances found out on her own. She became a kid with a new toy all over again. "We really need to figure out a way to remember all this when we reset time! I know Dr. McCoy is going to say something I'll want to tease him about when we get back."

She looked Saavik up and down and didn't bother trying to bite back her grin. Saavik turned her head in question, but only got a shake of the head. "Never mind. Are you coming down to the transport station?"

"I am." She picked up the duffel.

Frances noticed it. "I'll take it."

They left her office for the short walk to the transporter station. Stewart glanced again at Saavik and bit her lip before she managed to force casualness. "Is it true Imre won't stand close to you now?"

"Yes," Saavik answered calmly. "He had Suppo explain it is a personal discomfort, based on his height in reference to mine with the boots and shorter length of the dress."

"Mmm hmm," Stewart mumbled around tearing eyes and a struggle not to laugh. "It would be a bit pervy if he didn't say something and took advantage."

Saavik stopped. "His discomfort is not a matter for humor."

The doctor nodded quickly. "Right. Of course not." As they walked on, though, she tossed out the comment, "You know, it's a _bit_ funny. Poor guy."

Kamila Patrik's voice filtered out the open transporter room door. "You can grin, Kyle. You still have pants. Look at this uniform! My legs are freezing, this skirt shows you what underwear I got on, and I have no idea how women handled combat situations with the heels on these boots! I'll snap an ankle if I have to go up against anybody. I'm betting they counted on stunning their opponents by bending over and flashing them."

Nachson asked, "Do you want my pants?"

"Very funny. I should take them so you'd know how this feels."

Rebekah Gad, Ambassador Spock's diplomatic aide, said, "They put me in uniform. I'm really sorry about that. But it's these hairstyles that get me. It took two hairstylists helping me to get ready on time."

Someone, most likely Lieutenant Siwili Dardar, Thalla's replacement, said, "I do like the ship's insignia. It's a good design."

Patrik must have looked down at it too. "It is a shame we can't keep it."

Kyle Nachson's gravelly voice was its usual even keel. "Relax, Kamila. At least you're not the captain and T'allendil. The temperature's already bad for a Vulcan and now they've added a breeze."

Saavik walked through the door and saw Stewart ahead of her give them a silencing, chopping motion. "Are we ready?"

The transporter chief nodded. "They're picking them up, Captain, as you asked. Just like with the ambassador. Everyone remember you have to stay still until the transport finishes. No moving around at all like you can in ours."

Saavik made her way to the pads as Patrik, Sotraun, T'allendil, and Gad took their places. She grabbed each officer with her pointed stare. "I remind you that these are Starfleet uniforms. You will show them the respect you give our own and you will not disgrace them."

A chorus of "Yes, Captain" and "Of course, Captain" answered her.

Gad apologized again for being in uniform. "I have information to give Ambassador Spock, but if I went as his diplomatic aide, everyone would know he left Starfleet, so they thought it'd be better to look like I'm in the Science department. I'm sorry, Captain. It's wrong, a civilian wearing a uniform I didn't earn."

"Do not be concerned, Miss Gad. We understand. My uniform did not exist until today, nor did the _Contact_ 's emblem. We all break new ground together."

Patrik and Nachson finally took real notice of what she was wearing and repeated Stewart's earlier looking her up and down. Patrik got the same grin while Kyle gave a real sigh. "The poor ambassador."

Saavik frowned. "Spock? Why do you say so?"

"He's missing out, that's all."

"Mr. Nachson, Spock has seen me."

"Well, there's seeing and then there's _seeing_ in person."

Stewart got in place, grinning again, especially when Saavik obviously didn't understand. "I thought Suppo and the Wardrobe staff got all excited over something he said."

Saavik thought back. "He said the uniform suited me well."

Frances tried to casually wave off Gad to keep her giggle quiet. "Captain? I should let Ambassador Spock tell you — husband's prerogative, right? – but reverse the two of you in the uniform."

Saavik imagined her husband in the form fitting tunic, a V-neck revealing chest hair, and the equally fitted trousers.

If that weren't enough: the form-fitting _green_ tunic.

Green. The color representing Vulcan's passion.

Her eyebrows rose quickly at the mental picture. Her eyes moved to Stewart. "Understood."

She got another smile. "Thought so."

She saw T'allendil also look far away, no doubt imagining her own husband, and then met Saavik's gaze, one Vulcan woman to another. Sotraun equally gazed into the distance. He was a widower, so she had no idea who his thoughts were for. His late wife or did someone new draw his attention? Whoever the person was, he, of course, kept himself controlled, although he did take a minute to come back from where his mind had taken him.

It was none of her business.

Saavik watched Nachson take her spot at the lead point. Duty did not allow for anything like… want.

Perhaps he caught that because he looked right at her suddenly with a small smile. "Make you proud, Captain."

She suddenly realized he had never called her by name. Thinking about it, she remembered being told that Mr. Scott called Captain Kirk by name only once. "I expect it."

The easy going smile turned to an easy going grin. "Oh Captain, our captain."

 _If we are to misquote Terran literature, then 'I seem to have gathered up a stray in my arms.'_

"Medieval." Saavik signaled the transporter chief who contacted the _Enterprise_.

As Gad spoke quietly with T'allendil and Sotraun about not only meeting a younger Spock but if they were lucky, the younger Sarek, Saavik said calmly to her navigator, "Having said what I did earlier, Mr. Patrik, the woman's uniform is more… ventilated."

The thin shoulders inside the gold dress relaxed. "I swear," Kamila Patrik stated, "the draft goes right up your—"

The transporter beam cut off the rest.


	15. Chapter 15

Some readers might have a problem with Saavik's record listed later on in the chapter. Please keep in mind a few things: TSFS novel said she earned a medal for the Khan attack, so I figured she'd get one for returning to Hellguard and Genesis; those are the ones you see listed for the Enterprise. Saavik has been in Starfleet for almost 70 years here; so yes, she has more commendations than Riker and Data, but she's served almost four times longer, so I thought it was fair. I did make her have less than Kirk though, because he's Kirk. :) Nogura does put a note in her file in "Pandora Principle", so I figured Kirk would, and the Vulcan Council would for her part in getting Spock home alive for the _fal_ _tor pan_. I hope this now makes her record believable and acceptable.

* * *

USS _Enterprise_ , Transporter Room

Kirk took a step forward as the forms coalesced on the transporter pads. "Welcome to the _Enterprise_."

The man in the front of the _Contact_ 's party came down the step and up to Kirk with a direct look and stood at attention. "Captain Kirk, it's a pleasure as always, sir."

So they knew each other in the future; good to know. Kirk felt at times that he heard more about other people like Bones in the future. He waved off the formalities and the man relaxed his stance.

"I'm Lieutenant Commander Kyle Nachson. Let me introduce everyone so we can get to the briefing room. My captain is on standby until your notice."

Kirk clapped him on the back. "Good man."

"Thank you, sir." Nachson looked to be around his age, but might be younger or older. It was tough to tell. He gestured to two Vulcans coming towards them. The woman was petite and delicate with what was called large, almond eyes and a full mouth; she was introduced as the science officer. Next to her and a little darker walked -

Kirk bit back on his " _Good God!_ " and he'd bet anything that McCoy did the same. It was like meeting a living Ruk of Exo III, where they had made an android version of him and Chapel's late fiancé, Roger Kirby.

The captain hadn't exactly missed Sotraun earlier – no one could – but when no one stood in front of him and he came at you from the farthest transporter pad, Kirk got the whole impact of the big Vulcan.

Nachson was, of course, used to him and introduced him as Sotraun, their chief engineer. "Captain Saavik has hopes for bringing out our technical issues to this meeting. So Sotraun and the department heads are here instead of working on the auxiliary bridge."

"Mr. Nachson," Kirk started, "the _Contact_ has done nothing but recognize the technology advancement between us. That's the way it should be. How are we going to help with something we don't know and can't see?"

"We talked about that. She said it 'does not make their crew any less brilliant and general concepts apply then and now'. That's a direct quote, Captain. She believes both Spocks are here to see T'allendil's data, and Mr. Scott can understand our chip theory. I'll explain that later. Sotraun can apply any ideas from Mr. Scott to the ship's specifics."

The younger Spock moved forward. "I believe the idea can hold true, Captain, for the reasons they stated. After all, my older self does know their technology, so he may also break down the principles to those all parties can see equally."

Kirk agreed now. "An outside point of view could help." He went to the transporter operator and told her to get Scotty to the briefing room.

McCoy shot another look at the large Vulcan. "Tell Scotty, he doesn't have to go to the mountain. The mountain just came to us."

Nachson brought up the next topic. "The captain's thinking something else. You're the only other crew to go through the slingshot effect. Captain Saavik calls it something else."

The older Spock answered, "The light-speed breakaway factor."

Kyle nodded. "It's another thing we'd like to talk about. We've looked at your data, but your impressions – the things that don't need to make the logs - that could help a lot. It means anyone on the bridge that day coming to the meeting."

Kirk thought it over. "All right, although we had a different navigator on that shift then. But Sulu was there, Spock, myself – I think we'll be enough." He smiled and sent out the request to the bridge.

Nachson introduced their red-haired, porcelain-skinned navigator, Kamila Patrik, who appeared to be in the middle of saying something when she beamed in that she immediately swallowed.

A brunette woman in a Sciences uniform didn't wait to be introduced but used this distraction to slip behind everyone and go up to the older Spock. She leaned in close to talk quietly with him and he leaned towards her too with some familiarity. The captain suddenly thought of just who this could be and saw he wasn't the only one thinking it in the _Enterprise_ party.

The woman felt their looks and told them she was Rebekah Gad. She must have realized what was going on because she announced, "Let me save you some trouble: it's not me. I'm not his wife." She smiled, "I thought it'd be nice to have one less person to wonder about."

A lovely blond woman in a blue Sciences and Medical uniform stepped down to smile first at Kirk and then at McCoy. "Hello, Captain, Doctor."

Nachson introduced her. "Dr. Frances Stewart, our Chief Medical Officer."

She handed McCoy a tricorder. "With a gift for you. That has the full medical records for Mr. Spock's children."

"Ah! Mom sent you, did she?" He snapped the device on.

Stewart grinned. "Not at all. Your Sickbay is your Sickbay, and the kids are your patients. But we thought you'd like to see what their full readings are instead of having only your own without a baseline comparison. I know I said full records, but you know I had to remove references to certain elements you've seen."

Younger Spock broke in forcefully. "Why are there unknown elements in the children's genetics and why must they remain unknown?"

McCoy retorted, "It's just the ratio of Vulcan to human and how it's different from you. If there's anything else, Dr. Stewart can take care of it. You know, you're getting awfully worked up for someone who says they're not his children."

Stewart reassured him, "We know they're fine or Dr. McCoy would have asked the _Contact_ for help. Mr. Spock – their father Mr. Spock certainly would've. But again, we just thought you'd like to have the records. You can keep them on that tricorder if you want them outside the system."

McCoy drawled out, "Mom definitely sent you."

She came back with her own soft twang. "Then you'll love this." She pulled the bag that was slung with a tricorder over her body until it was in front of her. She drew out a reader and tapped a control. "For the children's mental health: it's their favorite games, books, holovids, all of it. Just in case. They've been through a lot today. Oh!" She grabbed at something else in the bigger bag. "We replicated outfits for them. They're dressed for school at home and we thought they might need something warmer for the ship's temperatures. And there's some pajamas and outfits for tomorrow. We're hoping we'll have the whole situation worked out by then."

The older Spock plucked the reader from McCoy's hands and the clothing bag. "I appreciate you putting these together, Dr. Stewart. So will the children. My wife is too good an officer to send you merely on an errand."

McCoy said in aside, "Lies, all lies." He got a lovely grin in return.

Kirk finally spoke and gave her a smile. "Where is your accent from?"

"Earth's West Virginia. Putting aside joking about the children's mother, I came here with T'allendil to show what we found on how the saboteur could be evading the scans."

"You could have sent it over," Kirk pointed out.

"We were about to when you contacted us." She handed another tricorder with the science officer's data on it. The younger Spock reached forward to get it.

Kirk nodded at what she said. "Bones, why don't you two take that to the kids? You can see if they check out physically with their full records at the same time, just in case."

McCoy agreed and swept a hand gallantly in front of him. "After you, Doctor."

She smiled beautifully. "Do I get the full tour?"

"Why? You interested in nostalgia?"

Her smile turned to a grin. "Oh please. You know how these refits go. You're getting a lot of use from something and they take it away in the redesign. I want to see what I'm missing out on."

"Shame I can't do the same."

"You'd call it 'a damned computer center'." She started taking the bag back from the older Spock since she would see the children first.

"How can you be so sure?"

"Because you called it 'a damned computer center' when you saw it. You've been saying that about Sickbays since the next refit. For you, I mean."

His professional charm for an attractive colleague became real pleasantness. "We know each other?"

"Yes, we do. In fact, you told the captain and me that we needed each other and shoved me into my Sickbay." She laughed and the transporter room doors closed behind them.

Kirk looked around the large group of people remaining and went over the names and positions of the _Contact_ personnel. His first officer would already know them upside down and backward after only one hearing, but for something like this, he wanted to know them himself. He came to a full stop at Nachson in command gold.

"Sorry," he told the other man, "I don't remember your station."

"I didn't say it, Captain. Some of our stations don't exist in this time, so I can't tell you it."

"New stations?" Kirk asked. "A starship does what it does."

Nachson calmly answered, "You know how it is. They combine stations, they split things out, and people get different roles. Besides, telling you my station doesn't give you the real truth about what I do."

"And that is?"

"Whatever the captain tells me."

It gave Kirk a laugh and it meant everybody knew everybody, so he led the way to the briefing room. He asked Nachson to walk next to him so he could ask the man questions. Primarily that meant the current situation, but he did slip a few in about the _Contact_ 's captain.

The older Spock suddenly joined the conversation, taking Nachson's place. "Captain Saavik was being modest when she spoke with you. So is Mr. Nachson. She is also Commander of Vulcan's forces."

Kirk merely said, "Oh," but his view of her dipped a little. Commander of Starfleet's forces on Vulcan was—

Nachson said casually as he followed the _Enterprise_ officers, "Not anymore."

Younger Spock looked back at him. "To what do you refer?"

The _Contact_ 's second officer looked at Kirk. "You were thinking that it was nothing. Commander, Vulcan. That was before."

"Before?"

Nachson gave a sideways grin. "Before the captain."

Kirk appreciated a loyal officer, but it nagged at him. He remembered things Spock had said and he could picture a dozen different ways things could get very violent before they reached Babel. All he knew about Saavik was that she was attractive, which meant nothing about her ability to command. Neither did the rank on her wrists if Spock proved true.

Spock usually proved true. At all ages.

So before they went any further, before everyone was even seated, he demanded of the older Vulcan, "Spock, this captain… I'd like to see her record."

Spock's brow furrowed. "It is unnecessary. I have stated she is a strong commander."

"Sorry, Mr. Spock, but it is necessary. A _Vulcan_ captain and Commander at Vulcan? You know exactly what that means."

Nachson insisted, "I told you. It's not nothing anymore. There's a reason why she gets the Vulcan Council's approval. Not to mention Starfleet adding a heavy cruiser like the _Contact_ to the forces already there."

Kirk felt the temperature in the room drop with every word he said. "Nevertheless, I want an unbiased outlook."

McCoy appeared on the tri-screen just then. "Jim, I figured you were running out of chairs down there, so I'm joining you this way. Why all the glum faces?"

He ignored that. "Uhura," he spoke to her on the bridge, "request Captain Saavik's record from the _Contact_."

Nothing happened for a second and then Uhura came back on. "They're protesting, sir."

"As do I," the older Spock repeated.

"Spock, do you remember when the _Intrepid_ was destroyed? You stated that Vulcan hasn't been conquered in so long, that no Vulcan, not even a Vulcan captain, can conceive of a conqueror. Do you remember saying that?"

"I do. Do you know what else I remember? I remember all the years in between. Experience, Captain. The experience that tells me now when I was wrong in the past."

"Spock," he asserted, "this man is after your children. Maybe your father on top of that. I would think you'd want their safety in the hands of someone who knows what they're doing."

"He does," came a voice that sounded vaguely familiar. After he identified himself, Kirk remembered this was the man who had asked that the children stay on the _Enterprise_. "He knows he's got her too. This is Commander Risteárd Imre."

"You're Saavik's first officer."

"No, sir," the man replied firmly. "I am this _ship_ 's first officer. You understand the distinction and why it's so important. Ordinarily, I'd appreciate this chance to talk with you, Captain Kirk. I respect you a great deal. Hell, I'd be thrilled, but not now."

Kirk responded with equal resolve. "I understand your loyalty to your captain, Commander."

"You insult me, sir." Another surprise. Wherever Saavik found this man, he was worth it. "That statement says I put her before anything else. That's not true, and worse, it violates my duty. My job is to make sure this ship is run properly, so we may fulfill its purpose. Being the first officer means I spend every moment in every day evaluating if Captain Saavik can do the job, and if she can't, it is my responsibility to remove her as unfit to command. The captain is there in that chair for a reason, and believe me, if she couldn't do it, I'd have hauled her out of it no matter what it took."

Kirk took a second to answer. He felt the older Spock's stare boring into him. Nachson seemed… the same as before, as did Saavik's science officer and engineer. Patrik had relaxed a little at Imre's voice and a smile even played at the corners.

He heard Dr. Steward ask _What's going on?_ from somewhere behind McCoy in Sickbay.

"Commander Imre," Kirk said, "we are not in an ordinary situation. You said so yourself when we spoke indirectly the last time. It involves my ship and my crew now. Saavik's actions as captain affect us, and I need to do _my_ job. Send her record."

"I am not following any order against the captain, sir. If you'd like, send a complaint to Starfleet Command."

 _For a man who isn't in Starfleet yet_. "That's insubordination and you know it. Know something else, Commander. If Captain Saavik isn't up to this, I'm taking command of the _Contact_."

Patrik's porcelain skin turned red at her cheekbones. "Of a ship you can't even see because it could upset the timeline? How are you taking command of her bridge? You'll have a mutiny on your hands anyway."

"Give him the record."

Everyone did a collective blink before they turned to Nachson, the person who had talked. "I mean it, Commander," he continued evenly, "send it."

"Can I talk to you privately?" Imre said.

Nachson spoke into the tri-screen at Uhura. "Lieutenant, could you patch this through to my communicator?" He pulled it from his belt and flipped it open for her to get the signal. "No, I don't need the captain. She doesn't know about the record request. No, if she knew about it, she'd send it over. She's Vulcan, she wouldn't get upset. She'd think it's a waste of time, but she'd send it. Thank you. By the way, our Bimo is a big fan of yours. You helped her get her job too, so she'd love it if you could say a personal hello. It'd mean a lot."

Leaving a nonplussed Uhura over that, he casually got up but stayed over in a corner. Kirk couldn't hear Imre, but he obviously heard Nachson. "…Commander Imre? I'm serious, send the captain's file. You're going to have to strip it… they're looking for battles… except for their Mr. Spock, send a full one to him. He's got that tricorder from Stewart… I changed my mind, that's all. No, I'm still in the room. I think they should hear me. Let them see why we follow where she leads. And why Vulcan Command and the High Council back her. It's going to be fun watching their faces." He glanced at Kirk. "No offense, sir."

Stewart pushed her way into the frame with McCoy. "Can the _Contact_ hear me? Commander Imre, it's Stewart. I'm agreeing with Kyle."

A pause as everyone wondered which way Saavik's first officer would go and then:

The computer's female voice read out, "Saavik, serial number SC-973-1067C. Service rank, Captain. Position, planetary forces command, starship command. Current assignment, Vulcan, USS _Contact_. Combat missions, Battle of name withheld, Battle of name withheld, Battle of name withheld — ground encounter, Battle—"

"Computer, why are the names withheld?" Kirk asked. For all he knew, it could have been slight skirmishes with her and a lone smuggler over a barren rock.

"Missions occurred while serving aboard the USS _Enterprise_. Names withheld for the protection of timeline."

His head snapped up. "She served with us." _So_ not _skirmishes over rocks_. "Resume record. Move past the USS _Enterprise_."

"Battle of Yiasla, Battle of Tepdeac, Battle of the Useen —"

"That much so early?" he wondered aloud. The computer kept reading.

The older Spock overrode Nachson from answering this time. "She served in the Border Patrol after the _Enterprise_. Before you ask, leaving was not her choice or yours. She did, however, do well in it."

 _That would do it_. "Did we get her back?"

"I cannot answer that question, as you know. I admit to some confusion. You do not believe in her abilities, and yet you wish for her to serve here?"

Kirk pictured having Saavik on board. "If she's not good as a captain, it doesn't mean she isn't a good officer period. Computer, skip to where she served as battle commander."

"Battle of Baxk to rescue Captain and First Officer, Battle of Asla to rescue Captain from the Romulans, Battle of Minlones while Captain led strike on the ground, Battle—"

"Skip ahead," he ordered. A person could be in a battle while not having served well.

"Commendations, Starfleet Award of Valor, Starfleet Medal of Honor with Cluster, Star Cross, Vulcanian Scientific Legion of Honor, Starfleet Extended Tour Ribbon with Cluster, Legion of Honor — Class of Excellence, Starfleet Decoration for Conspicuous Gallantry, Awards of valor..."

"Computer, give her record since becoming Commander, Starfleet Forces, Vulcan."

"Eradication of black market attempts to establish operations on Vulcan, increased Fleet forces including the USS _Contact_ resulting in a 47.3% improved strength within the sector, Battle of —"

He had his answer. "Stop."

The computer mistook the order and jumped to the next section. "Commendation filed by Admiral Heihachiro Nogura, full readout available. Commendation filed by Captain James T. Kirk, full readout available. Commendation filed by the Vulcan Council—"

He smiled. "Computer, stop reading the record."

The younger Spock's eyebrows lifted high. He spoke to himself. "Impressive."

He lifted the tricorder where he had been given her full record and said to his older self, "She spoke at the Vulcan Science Academy on a new species of flora she discovered. She did the same with a new sensor configuration unearthing an unknown life form and their culture that bordered the Federation all this time. She also worked with Taelonon on his research and was part of the presentation team. There is more." He looked back down to the record. "Most impressive."

Kirk was a big enough man to admit he was wrong. "Yes, it is." The older Spock had never stopped eyeing him coldly. "Nogura? That's remarkable. He's only a rock's throw from being Commander, Starfleet."

"So your concerns are answered?" Spock asked sharply.

"Well," the smile tugged harder, "I can't not listen to Nogura and myself, can I?"

Nachson gave his habitual one shoulder shrug and sideways smile. "Like I said. Where she leads, we follow. Commander Imre? We're good here."

Saavik appeared on the tri-screen monitor. "My apologies. The channel was on standby, although the reason remains unknown. I am asking my communications officer."

Nachson interrupted and he played it perfectly. "It was on this end, Captain. A little record research to answer a question. We took care of it."

But Kirk could not only admit he was wrong, he was honest enough not to hide either. "I took a look at your record."

"My record? …I see." Her expression showed – what? Acceptance, challenging? Nachson had said she wouldn't care about the record request other than as a waste of time. "This regards my being Commander at Vulcan."

He thought he'd be able to read her better than this. _Why? Because you learned to read one Vulcan?_ "It is. How did you know?"

But one thing he learned fast about Saavik was this: she spoke her mind. That nagged at him in the back of his head, but when he couldn't pinpoint why he put it aside.

"I hear it frequently," she said. "I did not expect to hear it from you. I failed to recall the full aspects of your not knowing me here. What are your thoughts now?"

He met her eyes dead on and wished again she was here. This should be face to face. "That I'm glad that the protection of one of the cornerstones of the Federation finally has serious consideration and the right commander at its helm. And that we're fortunate it was you and your ship that was brought back to stand side by side with us. Captain."

He watched her gaze flick back and forth, searching his. She could read him better than he could her, after all, since she had served with him.

He heard the equal respect in her reply. "Captain."

He looked around the room. "Let's get started."


	16. Chapter 16

USS _Enterprise_ , MAIN BRIEFING ROOM

Kirk's forehead creased as he focused on the small black band on the screen. "That's incredible. Bones, are you seeing this?"

Saavik appeared on one side of the tri-screen. She had said she knew she broke the all-important rule of not revealing the future by giving them this information. However, she believed the threat level from Taushan Rhinar having the combination of native ability and this technology warranted her discussing it. She kept the name of the planet and other things she knew classified, although, she noted wryly, the saboteur might remove that veil of secrecy when he revealed himself.

Frances Stewart came from Sickbay after McCoy examined the children again, but he stayed there and appeared on the last spot of the tri-screen monitor. The first display showed the black band since Kirk had asked that it be brought up here as well as the large wall monitor, so he could see it up close.

"I can, Jim. Are we really going to say _natural_ ability after the thousands of people they killed to do this?!"

The younger Spock sat at the computer station. "Everyone is repelled by it, Doctor. I am curious, Captain Saavik, how did you come by this information? You stated it was a neutral world?"

"Who applied for Federation membership. They presented this and other accomplishments to the Council as part of their application."

"Accomplishments!" McCoy barked.

"Bones, hold on." Saavik was on a side away from him now, so Kirk called her name. At some point, the older Spock had moved her from her original place on the monitor to the side he faced. Most likely to have a visual of both captains since he served as a liaison between the two ships. "Captain Saavik, is this why they were denied?"

"Yes," she said. "As you know, genetic engineering is against the law."

"The Eugenic Wars." He briefly wondered what was happening with Khan, his wife Marla, and the people of the _Botany Bay_. No doubt taming their world and building his empire as planned.

The younger Spock questioned, "A point of order. How did the law apply to work previously accomplished before their application?"

McCoy blurted explosively, "You green-blooded, pointed eared-!"

The older Spock interrupted and Kirk bet he couldn't be more pleased in this moment. "Doctor, there are four such people in the room and Captain Saavik on the channel, all quite appalled. You will need to narrow down to whom you aim your diatribe."

The physician cleared his throat painfully. "Uh, I apologize to Captain Saavik and her officers for what I said." Both Spocks lifted eyebrows at being left out. "My point was going to be why shouldn't their application be denied over previous gene manipulation? I don't mind bringing up again the thousands of people that died over this!"

"Willingly, Doctor," the older Vulcan said. "Those people chose to risk their deaths willingly. I cannot decide if it makes it worse."

Stewart had been laughing over McCoy's gaffe with the Vulcans. This sobered her quickly. "Definitely not better."

"However," the older Spock continued, "it was not the previous actions that caused the Federation to reject their bid for membership. It was their refusal to halt current and any future genetic engineering, in the face of what they hold as a lifesaving success."

Saavik spoke before McCoy or Stewart would most likely comment. "Has this helped with a solution as to why we cannot find this man?"

Kirk responded, "It may help with something else. You said it was a system near Coridan. What if this is why he's here? It's a lot of coincidences otherwise. Too many. I'd like to get Ambassador Sarek in here."

"I concur," the younger Spock said, sitting back in his chair with his fingers steepled loosely in front of his chest, "on the coincidence of the facts. However, what reason could this Rhinar have for forcing my father into an action here? Sarek cannot change a vote in the future from our time. Nor can he alter the Eugenics laws at either time for this world's acceptance."

The older Spock held his steepled fingers in front of his mouth. "Nor can I see how the Coridan vote affects this other system's future. The genetic engineering laws will not change by either Coridan's acceptance or rejection."

"It's still too many things to call a coincidence," Kirk insisted. "Agreed?"

Saavik was the firmest. "Yes. However, we must table this discussion until Sarek joins us. We must focus on the scans in the interim."

That forthrightness again and it nudged at Kirk's mind that someone he knew had the same self-expression. But with everything going on, that nagging feeling stayed out of reach, so he put it away once more.

Everyone approved of her suggestion and they paged Sarek. Nachson drained the rest of his coffee and stood up.

"I've done all I can here, ma'am," he answered when Saavik asked what he was doing. "I thought I'd go see what I can do in Sickbay. Actually, in leaving Sickbay. If nothing else, Dr. McCoy can have my chair. He's needed a lot more than me with Rhinar's biology."

After a pause, she seemed about to give him permission when she remembered, "Mr. Spock, you understand?"

Before the younger could ask, his older self answered, "Agreed."

"I echo it, Mr. Nachson. Stay with them as long as necessary. Run interference without rudeness. You appreciate that it is an understandable situation. Return to the ship afterward and report to me. Let us know if you need assistance."

"Yes, ma'am." He left, calling back as he went, "Captain of mine, I am yours. Command me."

"Regarding the scans," Saavik returned to business as the doors closed behind him.

"Before that," Kirk jumped in. Nachson' last statement wasn't the sort of thing just left there without asking about it. "Was that a quote? I don't think I've heard it before."

"It is. An obscure novel he found. The entire passage reads, 'Captain of mine, I am yours. Command me. With my life, with my death, I serve you. Captain of mine, command me.' I will send the book if you wish."

"Please do," he asked. "He's a… strongly loyal man."

Kamila Patrik refreshed her coffee. "That's one way of putting it. Oh, that sounded snotty. Sorry, I didn't mean it like that."

Kirk wondered if that remark and the earlier _I do whatever the captain tells me to do_ had a whole other meaning. The man certainly had plenty to say about Saavik before the older Spock moved forward, and Nachson had been her big defender over her record, with Spock's and Imre's help.

Saavik brushed Patrik's comment aside. "It is merely his eclectic means of expression. The critical point is how Rhinar," Kirk suddenly realized she had switched to the saboteur after the one statement on Nachson, "fails to show on scans. T'allendil."

Her science officer came quickly from the corner she had staked out with Scotty and Sotraun. The _Enterprise_ 's chief engineer had taken one look at his huge counterpart and said, "Aye, now I see what Dr. McCoy meant." Then he heard their systems language theory and after that, the three of them melded into a huddle all their own. With the similar uniforms, Kirk sometimes looked over and forgot about the time travel separating them.

They had left for a while and came back a few minutes ago with a box, tools, and a long table.

Now, T'allendil answered Saavik, "Captain, perhaps Dr. Stewart may present this discussion. We believe we have a working theory for detecting the sabotaged systems. I, therefore, prefer working there. If one Mr. Spock could also assist, it will quicken the work."

Her captain obviously agreed and the younger Spock moved to join the trio. McCoy got there as Frances Stewart began her report. She took them through all the _Contact_ had done in the scan parameters, which earned them nothing, and how for safety sake, continual scans ran in the event Rhinar managed to be in stasis, could not be detected, and would awaken.

"If he's not one of these people capable of stasis," she finished, "we face the same question of why can't find him? A few of us wonder if he's dead."

McCoy mumbled, looking through records, "That would explain it. Might explain why he's done nothing since this morning."

Now that Bones was here, Kirk hit a couple keys and Saavik appeared on the tri-screen on every side to make her easier to see around the table. "There's still time until Babel. Saavik, I don't see anything else you could do with these scans."

He waited for her to say he couldn't use her name, but she allowed it. He smiled to himself, despite her clear rejection of hearing nothing could be done, before turning to the older Spock. The younger still worked with Scotty and the two Vulcans from the _Contact_.

"We know the ship's sensors have not been affected," Spock intoned. "Nothing in his planet's presentation demonstrates the capability of full suspended animation which would explain no sign of life. Death would explain it."

Kirk broke in for a moment to ask if they had reached Sarek. Rebekah Gad answered he had gotten involved with other diplomats and she was working with his aide to get him free.

Kirk had expected Rebekah Gad to join Scotty, Sotraun, and T'allendil since she was in Sciences; instead, she hovered close to the older Spock, practically whispering when she spoke so he had to come close to her and worked on things that kept her in her seat by his side. Such as this thing with freeing Sarek. Kirk wondered if she wasn't Spock's wife after all, despite what she said. What other reason fit? The twins' coloring might be hers, although they were still darker, and if she was Spock's wife, she was… clingy. It didn't suit what he imagined the Vulcan's wife and the children's mother would be like.

Lieutenant Siwili Dardar drew a hand down his heavy-lidded eyes and his high cheekbones. "It's like he's not on the ship at all." Meaning Taushan Rhinar.

Kirk considered that. "There's nowhere to go but the _Enterprise_ and he's not here."

The younger Spock dashed up to the table and took his old chair, burying himself at the computer station. When he and the others he worked with said nothing, everyone let them be.

Patrik put her coffee cup down and pushed it from her like she had better not have anymore. "I don't mean this as condescending either, but you checked your sensors are working right?"

The older Spock answered, "A legitimate question. One asked of you and naturally must be answered here. Calibrations and diagnostic tests were done directly before the scans."

Saavik had someone demand her attention off screen, reminding everyone in the room she dealt with repairs to her auxiliary command. She spoke as she signed something that they couldn't see. "We have a flaw in our logic. It is not necessarily some detail we miss. Worse, we make an assumption or a misconnection."

"Worse?" Dardar asked.

"Because," Kirk said, "the truth is here already, right in front of us, and we'll never see it. Not as long as we believe it's not here. We'll wait forever."

"Unless we find our flaw," the older Spock said.

"Well," another voice sounded from the other side of the room. Scotty. "This is one flaw we found. Aye, and fixed."

Sotraun explained again the theory that the _Contact_ 's systems did report the sabotage, but those reports became 'translated' wrongly from their base machine language.

"So we built this." Scotty plunked the box down on the table, right by the tri-screen. "It nae seems like much and it's not. But watch and learn."

T'allendil explained next, and Kirk guessed that she at some point decided to simply accept Scotty's way of talking about the machinery. "It holds a number of key component types that would need to be affected by the saboteur."

"Aye!" Scotty jabbed carefully at one like it'd bite. "This wee beastie has been sabotaged. We know because we did the sabotaging. Now look!" Sotraun handed him a trident scanner, but no calibration of it signaled the disruption.

Kirk said, "Scotty-"

"You nae need worry, Captain. Here's where we broke our so-called language barrier."

T'allendil brought out a separate scanner; this one immediately alerted them to the problem and where.

The younger Spock now called everyone's attention to him. "They expanded on their work by asking for me."

"Because," Scotty clarified, "you can wave around these scanners to find the problem, but it'll take forever. We'll all be old and retired before that ship is fixed!"

The older Spock apparently got what they were saying and did his own rush around the table to his younger self. Saavik understood too because she asked a question that didn't seem to follow the progression.

"The test was successful?"

"Yes," the younger Spock said. He turned to Kirk, "It is clearly preferable for ship stations to again be able to scan the systems and discover the sabotage as is their standard function. We tested the team's base language application using this station. The result." He sent the report to the large wall screen where it scrolled out full data. "With this, they reduce their repair time by pinpointing where they are damaged."

Kirk leaned forward to address the older Spock. "Can you apply it to your technology?"

Sotraun responded to him, though. "We can. In the interim, before it is complete, we will use these scanners. They still give us more data than we have now."

Saavik fired off orders. "Sotraun, return to the ship and begin work immediately. Gad, return as well."

Rebekah looked at the older Spock first and then collected herself. "Right, of course. Captain."

"Mr. T'allendil, you remain with Patrik and Dardar. Captain Kirk?"

"Yes?" he asked. He lightly felt like he waited for orders and he half-grinned over it.

"We still wait for Sarek. I wish to utilize that time with your experiences regarding the slingshot effect. A starship is more than physical systems. We have a major discovery with Mr. Scott's help. However, my ship's programming is disrupted in at least course changes. The scanner correction could clear the programming based on replaced hardware. It remains unknown. Rhinar brought us here for a purpose. I do not see his giving the opportunity for the _Contact_ to return home at any level."

"Valid point. I already informed the bridge crew and Scotty's here. Chekov didn't serve on the bridge then, but I included Lieutenant Uhura even though Communications wasn't affected. Her viewpoint on the experience might help."

Patrik leaned over to Dardar for a hurried exchanged before she looked down the table. "I know he wasn't there, but I'd like Ensign Chekov's input on the navigator's logs. And if nothing else, he knows you all so well that he might ask you something that makes you see it differently. If that makes sense."

"It does." He snapped the control to contact the bridge and informed Uhura to have everyone come down including Chekov. He started mentioning something else when Sarek walked in with one of his aides, Siavann.

The personnel of the _Contact_ got to their feet. A few snuck sideways glances at the older Spock quietly begging. He showed mercy and moved around the table, Rebekah Gad hurrying to catch up.

"Father, may I introduce the _Contact_ 's officers?"

Kirk glanced up and found Saavik's eyes closed. He called her name and she opened slowly, the way Vulcans seem to do after meditating. He wondered why, but he needed to discuss something with her that was far more important than that question.

He used everyone looking at Sarek to talk privately and lowered his voice. "The changes Rhinar may have made to your ship... Do you and your officers understand your weapon controls might be compromised?"

She answered, "We do."

He stared hard into her eyes. "Have you made ready for it?"

She stared back. "Captain to captain, you do not need to ask such questions. In addition to our other preparations, we are ready to destroy the _Contact_."

He nodded slightly. "You're right, no more questioning. And let's hope it doesn't come down to destroying your ship."

"And my crew."

He agreed quietly, "Yes."

She glanced in the direction of the knot of people opposite of him. "Captain Kirk-"

"Jim." She looked quizzical. "Call me Jim, please."

She nodded in understanding. "I have civilians on board and separating the ship will not save both sections from a self-destruct. However, you have the youngers selves for-"

"—some of your civilians," he completed the thought. Another time he wished a screen didn't stand between them. "We'll take them and we'll keep them separate."

"One additional matter." She took a beat and stared down as if meditating again. "Our Spock, so to speak, and his children will remain with you."

That sounded… personal. "Yes, of course. Saavik, would you consider – if a self-destruct becomes necessary, would you allow Spock's wife to beam over here?"

She stared at him like her keen Vulcan intellect had shut down. "Favor one officer? No, disregard that." Now she did appear resigned. "Yes, I will do all I can to get her to her family."

"Thank you," he said and meant it deeply. "You know we can't take all of you on board, but I will find out how many we can."

"Then I will choose who lives and who dies."

Neither of them said anything and the bright voices surrounding Sarek jarred with their reality. The commander's nightmare, his worst order to give. _Captain of mine, command me_. The command could be to walk into death or for the captain to order himself to directly kill a crewman so everyone else was saved.

Saavik spoke at last. "The greater point is, some will live."

She wouldn't be one of them. If she couldn't get every person off the _Contact_ , she'd stay with them. So would he if it was his crew.

The only Vulcan woman he had ever known at all prior to this was T'Pring. Saavik with all her logic was not T'Pring.

Of course, he had also met _the_ woman who signified Vulcan, but while their strength and leadership were equal, Saavik was not her either, in a way that complimented them both.

He rapidly figured out she also wasn't Spock, which was another wrong assumption in hindsight. He learned her command style was different than his, of course, they were different people, but if anyone thought a Vulcan captain could only command Vulcans well, Saavik was one to teach them differently.

She spoke again, "We discuss an issue we are unaware even exists. Logically, we shall continue preparations, but do not have my funeral yet."

A corner of his mouth lifted in a serious sign that he hoped so too.

The older Spock had left Gad and the Vulcans for last. Leaving Rebekah only cemented Kirk's thoughts on her and he whispered that to Bones.

McCoy shot him a look that went to the woman next. "I dunno, Jim. Maybe, but I don't see anything of her in the kids. Course, things skip a generation."

He then fumbled with the screen controls. "Jim, how do I put Saavik on the main screen?"

Kirk simply told the computer to do it. "Why?"

The doctor shrugged. "Just thought she might like to greet Sarek. The woman who is Vulcan's commander and its premier ambassador, right? Plus, everyone in the room gets a good look at her again. Not everybody was on the bridge."

T'allendil and Sotraun had greeted the younger Spock when they beamed over, but now theirs to Sarek was in Vulcan and went on longer. About midway through, both Spocks suddenly moved to stand at their father's shoulders. When they finished, Sarek spoke in return, also in Vulcan, and McCoy thought out loud about what was happening.

Gad heard them and came over. "Sotraun and T'allendil's families have a personal connection with Sarek's. Since it's a family matter, both Spocks stand with their father to represent their house with him."

She turned away, Kirk gave her back a pointed look, and Sarek finished his returned greetings.

The older Spock gestured to the wall screen. "Father, may I present Saavik? She is captain of the _Contact_ and commander at Vulcan."

McCoy's head went back at that and his mouth quirked after a second as Saavik explained what kept her from being there.

Sarek agreed with her decision, so maybe, Kirk thought, that careful expression that came over her at their introduction would go away now.

His bridge crew came in as a group right at that moment and the break was over.


	17. Chapter 17

USS _Enterprise_ , Rec Room

Amanda walked behind the children as they, in turn, walked behind this oddly charming Mr. Nachson who had appeared in Sickbay like a genie out of a bottle.

"Your mom and dad say hello," he'd announced to the children with no preamble, "and my captain says I'm all yours. Who wants dinner?"

They leapt at the sight of him, marking him as someone they knew well, and he took the time to greet each of them uniquely instead of as a collective. After answering each question in one way or another, he approached Amanda respectfully to introduce himself. He told her he worked with her daughter, how highly he thought of her daughter and her son, and how equally highly her daughter spoke of her.

As if it naturally segued, he swept out his arm towards the doorway. "I bet you could use getting out of here and relaxing over a hot meal."

She sat and looked at him open-mouthed. "Did someone rub a lamp and you appeared?"

"No, Grandmother," T'Pren interceded. "Didn't you hear? Mother sent him. He is her stray."

Amanda's eyes crinkled at the corners. _I begat a new tradition._ Her daughter took on strays as she did. One of them was even sent to her. When her eyes went over his face out of curiosity, he misunderstood.

"Or special project, if you like that better," Nachson finished, gesturing again to the archway where T'Kel waited with contained impatience. "Ready, ma'am?"

"Amanda," she said and rose to her feet.

He smiled. "You always say that," and they went at last out of Sickbay.

Now they walked with the children between them. It was so Vulcan that it brought a rush of memories of Spock between Sarek and her. Nachson led the way to the closest rec room, right on the same deck, but they still drew immediate attention in that short walk. He turned to Setik and the twins before going inside the room.

"Let me go glance around. You'll be right in next. By the way, you look great."

They each had changed, Setik in another blue shirt which made Amanda wonder if his mother packed it to keep something of his father close to him. Or perhaps simply because of his eyes. T'Kel wore a white long-sleeved tunic and black pants and T'Pren had on a honey brown. They each had a black strap for their readers slung over their shoulders and across their chests.

A line appeared between Amanda's brows. "Mr. Nachson, do you think we could have a problem?"

"Nah, and it's Kyle. I just want to see a good spot for the kids where you and I can be a buffer. And it's a grand entrance. People have been wondering all day about them. Now they get to see." He jerked his head at Setik, a miniature Spock, and grinned at Amanda. "This'll blow their minds."

Despite his teasing, he walked in quite serious and swept the room. She heard the buzz of conversation inside.

"—think one of them has blue eyes. Do Vulcans have blue eyes? It's got to mean the wife is human."

"-twins? That's insanely rare for Vulcans."

"Rare doesn't mean impossible."

"But I heard they're close together in age. Does that seem Vulcan? I'd think they'd – put it off as long as possible."

"—yeah, but every time he's with a human, he's out of his right mind. He's not _him_. Spores and energy fields and so on. McCoy said so too. Spock's like a guy who goes to a bar, gets drunk, picks up someone, and when he gets sober, it's the 'This has been great, but let's be friends' speech and he leaves them behind."

 _Not exactly what a mother wants to hear._ She kept the children busy to hopefully distract them from what was being said. She needn't have bothered; they busily greeted the people in the corridor who had waved and said hello.

All the talk and the sounds of dining hitched and then only whispered talking could be heard. She realized it was Nachson's ship emblem; it took a second to register with the people in the room that he wore something different. Now he was in the spotlight: the man from the future.

He looked over his shoulder at Amanda and nodded. He stepped aside out of the doorway. She ushered Setik and the girls in ahead of her. It reminded her vividly of when she and Sarek were first married. Humans saw her and thought nothing of it until her Vulcan husband walked in too. Or he would go first, Vulcans going about their business until his human wife came in.

She swore one person actually dropped his fork at the sight of the children and it clattered like a cliché to his plate.

T'Pren, T'Kel, and Setik looked every which way, but Nachson kept to his word. He picked a larger table in a corner where he could put the kids on the far side with a wall at their backs. He borrowed chairs from other tables since theirs didn't have enough. Two crewmen shot to their feet and volunteered to bring them over. Knowing it was to get a closer look at the children, Nachson agreed, but politely kept them from loitering to stare. Despite his understanding people wanted to see them and joking about blowing people's minds, Amanda appreciated that he did not allow her grandchildren to be a sideshow.

He and Amanda sat on the side with the room. He coughed and mimed something behind her back, followed by a series of near grunts that sounded like "McCoy" and "chair". She began pulling out her seat when Setik, who apparently had been the target of Nachson's performance, came around and held it out for her.

"I ask pardon, Grandmother. I forgot a gentleman must get your chair."

Amanda heard more than one 'Aw!' in the room and forced a straight face that showed only great dignity in sitting and thanking him. Before her grandson could sit again, Nachson asked them, "Who's hungry?"

The girls promptly stood and Amanda started to rise, thinking he should have done this before she sat down.

He proved her wrong by putting a handout. "You stay here, Amanda. We'll bring something back. Rank's gotta have its privileges."

She told him what she'd like and watched her brood cross the room, the children debating with him about his calling her by her name. To which he replied, "Didn't you talk to your mom and dad about this? I can say I call her Amanda in the future. It's okay."

Round-eyed over that, they got to the food synthesizers in the far wall. Too late, Amanda realized they hadn't dealt with these. The technology was definitely up a level in her grandchildren's world; she could see it in their reactions. Right now, they wanted to pull things apart to see how it worked and she thought she might never get her curious grandchildren back. She began to go over when a lovely young woman, plainly dying to say something since they walked in, offered to help, speaking in the bright way people did with children.

Nachson came back and plunked into a chair. He shrugged when she looked at him. "Let 'em have some fun. Her too."

Amanda watched for a second before she nearly whispered, her eyes still on Setik and the twins, "Kyle. This meeting. Did it help in coming up with a way to find this man?"

He didn't bother asking what man. "We got ideas, great ones. And the captain has a way to search the ship better. But no. We don't know how he's doing it. We feel like we should and that's the hell of it. We're even grasping at the straw that he's dead."

The three dark heads of her grandchildren leaned over something the woman showed them. Amanda's throat tightened and she clasped her hands together. "I," she spoke quietly, "have never wished death on anyone. My mind and heart recoil at the idea of it. But this man…" She couldn't say it.

Nachson startled her by putting a comforting hand over hers. Her fingers felt frozen and the warmth helped. "No one would blame you for thinking it, even saying it. I bet a part of your husband and son thought it. Same goes for your daughter. Me? I want to make it come true if the bastard's alive." He let go after she drew in a calming breath. "Hold on, I think you need a dose of grandkids."

"Wait." She took hold of his wrist. "What I can do? There must be something. I seem to be the bystander here."

"You're not. Do what you're doing. They got very little foundation right now."

"And that's it?" She knew that already.

Those green eyes became level with her blue ones as he sat back on his heels. "Ma'am – Amanda. Doing that is huge. Being so close to them – physically, I mean, it's putting a target on yourself." He let that sink in. "Are you ready for that?"

Marrying Sarek meant having his enemies eye her as his weak spot; a few times they needed Vulcan's SE forces or Starfleet Security to come in. She imagined she felt the weight of this kidnapper's gaze on her as she watched T'Pren, T'Kel, and Setik. She lifted her head with everything she had learned from her adopted home.

"Of course, I am. How could I not be? I merely hadn't thought about it in those terms." She let the corners of her mouth lift slightly. "Now then, let's have the dose of grandkids you promised me. Before that sweet girl realizes what she's taken on."

He said before he straightened up, "Two things. He needs to come from my ship to the _Enterprise_. We got to catch him doing that. Second, you won't be alone. I promise we'll be there."

The woman with Setik and the twins had to be the one to tell them no Vulcan dishes existed in the system, but the children reassured her they knew Terran foods and each picked something out. That put the very interesting food system right in their hands, instead of only something to talk about, and Amanda nearly called out only to hear Nachson move them along before one of them tried to climb inside.

The woman, dressed in Engineering red with thick brunette hair in a bouffant style and light pink skin flushing, stood up from her crouch. The way she did it slowly until she stood as tall as Nachson with only a hand's breadth between them told Amanda the young lieutenant included the children's escort in her curiosity. He neither invited her to pursue him further nor pushed her off. His smile got a shade friendly instead of only politeness and that was it. She volunteered to bring Amanda's dinner to her.

"Jennifer Lee, ma'am." She put Amanda's food down and stooped next to the table. She asked the children, "You don't mind if people talk to you, do you?"

"If I can talk back," T'Kel said. She hadn't eaten one bite but held up the black and red reader she still wore over her shoulder. "Why-"

Nachson half got up to lean behind Amanda and whisper in Jennifer's ear. Comprehension dawned over her entire expression.

"Of course, I should have—right." She turned back to the kids and she beamed with gentle good nature. "Enjoy your dinner. Maybe we can talk later."

"What was that?" Amanda waited until he dropped back into his seat.

He leisurely spun his blue coffee cup standing next to his sandwich plate. Now he waited while she reminded her grandchildren to eat rather than experiment with their readers. "I just reminded her what happened this morning and asked they get time to finish their dinner." He hadn't touched his own yet. He let his cup be, except to keep a hand on its top. He indicated the room with his chin. "You know I get it. I'm curious about them just like they're looking over here. Except I'm coming off as overdramatic. Right? But it's easy for people to become a mob. No bad intentions, just honestly coming over to say hi. Not seeing it's all of them all at once. Word's going out now everywhere that the kids are out in public. We'll see more people soon and that's great. Just – let the kids breathe. That's all."

He smiled and turned sideways in his chair to stretch out his legs. Amanda picked up her silverware and thought about what he said. After a minute, she patted his arm.

Setik watched the man across from him over his meal which appeared to be a Spanish dish. "Mr. Nachson? Is Mother on board?"

"We gave her a list," T'Pren added.

With that, all three children stopped breathing. Amanda closed her eyes in sympathy and signaled him she would break the bad news.

He silently refused to pass on the responsibility. "I wish, I _wish_ I could tell you. But that gives away who she could be. That could get back to Mr. Spock or somebody else. We can't do that. I'm sorry. You know I am."

Amanda got an idea. "Wait, I'm the only one who can hear you. I'll leave."

T'Kel interrupted. "You don't have to, Grandmother. If you turn around…" She pushed her Indian dish closer to Nachson.

He picked up a knife and gestured with the hilt. "You know you can't show anything."

T'Pren reminded him, "We are Vulcan."

Amanda turned and heard scratching in the dish, probably a Y or an N. When she turned back, she couldn't see anything in their expressions that told her what the answer had been. It could be interpreted either way.

To give them credit, she didn't need to say anything else to the children about eating their dinners. They sat, well-behaved, and with talk spattered here and there as they ate. Their eyes, however, went everywhere: questioning and cataloging whatever they landed on in the room. It either cheered them up, so to speak, or was an added positive layer to the news their mother had joined their father here.

Despite that, Setik seemed to be the only one feeling the stares aimed at them. Because of his similarities to his father, everything he did earned a comment or exclamation, and Amanda heard remarks on who did they know in the crew that could have the twins' coloring. Not to mention the astute few that already picked up that T'Kel's personality was not Spock's at all.

Nachson naturally left discipline to Amanda, something the children already knew from experience. She made them sit quietly for a moment after all three finished eating and patted her mouth with a napkin before asking him what he thought.

He looked out into the room since he'd turned in his seat. His sandwich was half gone and he now played with an empty cup. "I'm just the guy who walks down the hallway and sits at the table."

"Liar." She nodded to the children. "All right."

Nachson addressed the bottom of his cup with a smirk. "Have at it."

She began to turn in her own chair when a barrage let loose from her grandchildren to Lieutenant Lee who had kept an eye in their direction. The stream of questions sounded something like:

"Why don't you have Vulcan food when Mr. Spock is on board? Are we allowed to use the computers? Why don't you make one large rec room instead of all these little ones? Do you know our father – this one? Mr. Spock? You're in Engineering, can you show us how the food system works? Is it formed from matter or transported cooked food?"

"Maybe," Amanda cut in, unable to hide the laughter in her expression, "we need to let her answer before we ask more."

Nachson sized up the shell-shocked group around them and called to Setik, who was on his feet to take up his tray; the man followed this with a light tap to his forehead and then dropped his arms behind the chair. Spock's son folded his arms behind his back and flipped up an eyebrow. A spatter of laughter and head shaking went around the tables.

As they waited for answers from Lee or anyone else, Amanda spoke in an aside with Nachson. "I keep forgetting to take their father at that age and triple him." She observed him with a wicked light. "Buffer. We're not a buffer between them and the room. It's the other way around."

They shared a quiet laugh that echoed in his eyes for a long time. "This is great. You can't get two more curious groups of people and now they finally met."

Help for Jennifer Lee came through the door: Sulu, Chekov, and Uhura came up from their meeting with the _Contact_ personnel and Kirk. In fact, they went over it, tiredly wondering if they had been any help.

Uhura came around from behind Sulu when she saw Nachson. "I know you. You're one of Captain Saavik's people. You're-"

They froze at their first sight of the children. On the other hand, Setik, T'Pren, and T'Kel whisked around their table into the room. The youngest girl gave their names as if that was what the communications officer had been talking about.

Setik used it as a lead-in to speak to Uhura. "Jambo. Ni vizuri kuona wewe."

Her mouth fell open and her head turned in surprise to Sulu and Chekov.

"Don't look at us," the Russian pointed. "Ve don't know vhat he said."

She translated. "It's Swahili. He said hello and that it's good to see me." A new round of whispers started around them. She turned back to the boy. "Unajua Kiswahili?"

"Ndiyo, ulifunza."

The not surprising translation this time was he spoke Swahili because Uhura taught it to him. The explosion in the undercurrent building in the room became a rising wave that the children had to tread to keep afloat. Amanda began to interfere when Setik's head tilted to the side and back, and his inner eyelids dropped.

"Why is it so curious what languages I speak? It is simply one thing we have learned because you are close associates of the family."

The room held a collective breath.

Sulu came closer. "We're friends of your father?"

"Father and Mother."

"The three of us," he suggested, "not just Chekov and me?"

Nachson broke in. "Setik, they want to know if Lieutenant Uhura's a friend of your mom."

T'Pren sang out, "Oh yes, you definitely are. My znayem vsekh vas vsya nasha zhizn'."

Chekov looked at the other two and nodded. "That vas Russian. She said they have known all of us their entire lives."

The room blew out that breath in a drop of spirit. Less than a second later, it climbed right out of the pit and lifted back up into the air for the obvious reason: they had a lot more names to bandy about, and that began to include the women who came over from the other ship.

Setik looked from one person to another, back and forth, with a blank look. "I do not understand."

Amanda had come up behind him and laid her hands on his shoulders. He tipped his head back to look into her face. "I do not understand, Grandmother."

"They're curious about who your mother is. You know what it's like to be curious." They agreed. So people wondered, she went on, if their mother was someone on the _Enterprise_ now, especially if they showed any familiarity towards someone. It was like the conversation they just had about if their mother came over from the other ship. She stressed they did nothing wrong by saying Miss Uhura was a friend of the family, but it was better if they didn't reveal these things for anyone else.

T'Kel flung up her hands. "Does _everyone_ have to possibly be Mother?"

T'Pren pointed out, "Some people must be able to tell anyway, Grandmother. So we do not break any secrets if we say something they already know."

Setik said wisely to Uhura, "You most likely can tell by us. We would be different."

"We would be darker for one." T'Kel examined her arms. "I am light instead."

Amanda snatched up three small Vulcans and reminded them that Sulu, Chekov, and Uhura needed their dinner too. The bridge officers assured her they were fine only to have the young navigator's stomach rumble.

Sheepish, he still insisted he could eat and talk with the children. "It's vhat ve do vith eweryone in the room anyway."

She got out, "If you think it's all right-" and the officers quickly had a table with their meals on it. Setik and the twins hovered around them and other people in the room moved forward, but a look from Nachson reminded them to give the kids space. Not that T'Pren, T'Kel, or Setik seemed to have a problem with being at the center of attention.

 _Little showoffs_ , Amanda thought fondly. They probably were also excited to see people they knew well amidst all the strangers.

While Nachson took the chance to have a real hello with Sulu, Uhura, and Chekov, Jennifer Lee slipped up to their table, closer to the children.

"So," she urged, "what sort of things do you like to do? I see you each have a reader. Is there something you'd like to share from there? What about music? Your father likes music. Is it something you enjoy too?"

They each blessed it as being high on their list.

"Can we hear a song you like? Maybe it's in our systems."

A glance at Uhura with Sulu and Chekov became the decision maker. T'Pren told them more than Lee, "There's one they like to sing with us."

Uhura asked, "We do?"

"Dr. McCoy does too and – some other people. He calls it the Vulcan patty cake song, but it is really about our mekh-rás."

Amanda half came out of her chair. "You have mekh-rás?" She hastened to explain to the baffled looks, "They're people who agree to be guardians and raise the children if something happens to the family. It even had a mental bond with it after Surak, but the practice dwindled once Vulcan was at peace. Although I have heard there are rare cases."

Setik pushed out his thin chest over being one such case. "Our mekh-rás serve as role models and benefactors."

"For our human sides," T'Kel added.

"Plus our—" T'Pren stumbled, "—safety if something did happen to the family."

What was that hiccup?

"Of course," Setik returned, "we have many role models for our being human, like our Grandmother. We have many for being Vulcan as well, but this is a… formal recognition. Especially because of the mental bond."

Amanda's mind whirled, centering on Setik saying earlier that McCoy was a major influence in his life, and now her grandson showed he spoke Swahili.

Of course, Dr. McCoy could be an influence without being a Sa-mekh-rá. She thought of Jim Kirk in that meeting with both Spocks and Sarek.

"May we hear the song?" she asked with an underlying agenda.

They hesitated when the song was unsurprisingly not in the ship's system and they didn't have their musical instruments. Nachson, however, encouraged them to sing it on their own. That's all it took for T'Kel to pounce on Sulu, Setik to move to Uhura, and T'Pren to Chekov after a hesitation only her grandmother noticed.

 _Because your guardians aren't here, are they?_ Or at least, not in the room. Despite T'Pren speaking some Russian, Amanda had the feeling she was right.

Nachson reminded them, "Remember, you got to sing both parts. They don't know theirs yet."

The twins looked to their brother to start them off and they sang. They used the Vulcan lyrics and the corresponding gestures that helped tell the story about a lost child, cut off from his parents, who calls out to the guardians his mother and father forged through House Alliance. In the chorus, each child touched their hand from the adult's forehead to their own, followed by touching the human's chest to their side. When they sang the song again in English, the adults understood the motions beautifully went with the words:

 _For we are bound, mind to mind, and heart to heart._

Uhura leaned forward in her chair towards Setik. "That was lovely. Is Mr. Nachson one of your mekh-rás?"

The man in question shook his head almost in time with the children. "That's a special breed of people."

T'Pren explained, "Our mekh-rás call him our Fun Uncle. They say it means they tell him something we should learn or do, but they cannot be there to show us themselves."

T'Kel knelt in a chair in between Sulu and Chekov and pulled a surprise. "Who came over from the other ship?"

 _What is she doing?_ Nachson answered this already. Perhaps they wondered if their mother came in after he had left the room? That would be if he said No. If he said yes—

 _Maybe they wonder if she is still here and they could see her. Or if she returned to her ship without coming to them._

Amanda couldn't imagine the woman she spoke to ever doing such a thing.

Meanwhile, Sulu, Chekov, and Uhura tried to put together a list. About halfway through, people realized the children might give away if their mother was there or not.

Sulu started. "Some people were leaving, the chief engineer and Lieutenant Gad. The science officer, T'allendil, was there-" They went through everyone until Uhura exclaimed, "Captain Saavik wasn't there. She thought it best with their repairs and searching for the saboteur to stay on her ship. But we had an open channel to her the entire time. She's still speaking with everyone who remained in the meeting."

Some man in the front spoke nearly in amazement. "So it _was_ true. A Vulcan woman captain."

Uhura spoke almost defensively. "I thought she was impressive. A lovely woman too. I can see why they made her a captain."

"I didn't mean anything by it," the man said. "I'm just surprised."

Sulu remembered T'Kel was there. "Does that answer you? You must know some of them, don't you?"

"All of them." She remembered to thank him.

"Maybe," Chekov hinted around, "someone is more special to you?"

T'Pren came in for her sister. "If there was, we would not be able to say so."

Nachson grinned over at the navigator. "Nice try, though."

The Russian grinned back. "Didn't hurt to try."

Amanda decided to move them all away from this topic. "What about another song?"

 _I'm as much a showoff as them._

A dark haired man in a Sciences tunic had pulled a chair around and straddled it backward. "Do you know any from Earth?"

"Many," Setik answered. He brightened. "We have a favorite. Our grandparents even found the original books on which the song is based. We have them in our readers and the original print editions are at home. I became old enough to read those this year. Only, the song," he beseeched Nachson, "I think we need the music this time."

The girls watched him as closely. He sat up and answered equally serious. "I think you're right. Hold on." He addressed the rec room. "Does anyone have a guitar? Or know someone who does?"

One crewman got up from the back and offered to get his. Nachson stood up to shake his hand in thanks as the other man headed for the door. He gathered the kids around him. "Show your grandmom that dance while we wait."

Three identical looks of disapproval answered that; Setik put it into words. "They do those in nursery school. We are not in nursery school anymore."

"I didn't mean those. The one that T'Pren's Sa-mekh-rá taught you and his kids."

Their eyes grew very round. " _Here_?" T'Kel had to confirm.

"Yeah, she'll love it. Won't you?" he asked Amanda.

She wasn't sure. If it was something that bothered them, but he reassured all of them. "You know I'd do nothing that gets you in trouble. And nothing you don't like. Right?"

"Kyle," Amanda began, but he explained the children's concern.

"Here's the thing. The dance isn't from Earth or Vulcan. It's from somewhere else, a place we got problems with today. Imagine it's Klingon. It's not, but you get it. You can't think of them doing a Klingon dance and you might get upset that someone is making them act Klingon. But picture a future where there's a good reason why your grandkids are doing this dance they really want to show you."

She looked at T'Kel, Setik, and T'Pren as they stood unnaturally still with eyes locked on her face. She held out a hand and beamed at them. "Then I can't wait to see it."

A sentiment echoed around the room as the children's heads swiveled to look over to Uhura and the others. Nachson got up to find a song since he didn't think the real one would be in the computer. He whistled between his teeth as he looked. "Found one. OK, it's not the same song, but you'll get it."

In fact, it wasn't a children's song at all, but it rang light and sweet and the children moved along, always checking that she watched them. She couldn't believe the dance wasn't Vulcan; it held the native elements of those dances. Nachson crossed through their little circle and did a few steps before leaving them to it.

He stopped in front of Amanda and held out his hand. She looked from it up to his face.

He gave her a small, quiet smile. "I'm harmless. I really am just the guy who walks down the hall, sits at the table, and thinks this nice woman sitting here might like the fun of a dance."

When was the last time a young man asked her to dance? For all the possible reasons including the simple pleasure of it? With an answering smile, she took his hand and he raised her to her feet. "Good. You don't want to be the only one in the family not out there."

"I don't know this one," she reminded him as he threaded her arm through his to escort her. She suddenly saw her grandchildren warning her not to do this because Nachson apparently was a horrible dancer. But he assured them he had been practicing and didn't step on toes anymore.

"That is very reassuring," Amanda laughed as he took her hand and put his other around her back. He led them into a basic dance, at least having enough rhythm that he matched their movements to the slightly quicker song.

"Are you certain their dance isn't Vulcan?" she asked him. "It is rather like the ones in the nursery schools."

"Nope, not Vulcan. Did you know your son called them less coordinated Orion slave girl dances?"

She grinned. "No, but I can imagine it." _The younger would mean it seriously. So would the older one but he'd be relishing the reaction too_.

She narrowed her eyes at him and her voice was light. "What are you up to?"

His own eyes flew open wider and he did almost step on her feet as he stopped. "Ma'am, I would never-"

"Don't be silly. I meant nothing of the sort." Amanda gave him a significant look so he relaxed and started dancing again. "But you do have another layer to all this. Am I right?"

She knew he'd shrug and he did. "I figure the kids needed to get out and stretch their legs. And their heads. They're doing a good job with meeting people who are younger than they know them. They're still familiar faces and it helps."

"Which is another reason why you're here. You're someone they know who is exactly the way they know you. And?" she prompted. "I know there's more."

"Yeah, you would. Okay. They're making personal connections. People are having a good time, that by itself is great. They leave, others come in, and they join the fun. Did you see Ambassador Csala of the Caitians is here? She likes T'Pren."

"The point?"

"Before tonight, if Captain Kirk asked the crew to help, they would and they'd do great jobs. Now if the kids need help, these people will push each other out of the way so they can volunteer first."

She felt her hands grow cold again. "Because this man is coming for them."

Now he made her keep moving instead of being crippled by her thoughts. "His name is Taushan Rhinar, and yeah, every way we figure it, he'll _try_ coming back for them."

It was a cliché and she knew it. She thought it anyway. _You'll have to come through me if you want them_.

Nachson cleared his throat and she came back from the dark place her mind had gone. He smiled. "Hey, it still is really about everybody having an innocent good time. Including you and your grandkids."

Her eyes gleamed. "My daughter picks her strays well."

"Thanks. Not ones that can dance obviously."

"You're all right." She made sure to catch his eyes. "Tell this secret girlfriend her lessons are working."

The way his face dropped because she guessed right was priceless.

She liked how Nachson treated her, like he did with the children: equally. He neither ignored who they were or their ages, but he made no barriers or limitations from them. As he said, two people up here simply for the sake of it.

Oh, the days when she and her friends went out and young men asked them to dance. Or they asked the men. Sometimes it was the start of something bigger; others were like this.

Nachson and she nearly collided with Setik, earning them an eyebrow. "Hey," the man told him, "not everyone's your dad and mom."

Amanda thought she asked it first, but it also came from Lee, Uhura, the man straddled backward, and Chekov as well. "Your father and mother dance?"

"Yes," the boy answered her, "you taught them. Father first. You taught Mother a second dance as well that she later taught Father. I have only seen that one a few times." He took in everyone hanging on what he said. His lips pressed together. "They prefer it remains private."

Nachson stopped and addressed him. "Hey, it's okay. You did nothing wrong. Remember their first dance was for your grandmom? Then that diplomatic function three years ago? Exactly. You know what, you should show her. Think so?"

The boy tilted his head and his eyes narrowed before he nodded. "I believe I know it."

He reached for Amanda's hand, his shoulders too high and stiff, and his other arm behind his back as he attempted a courtly pose. He walked her the few steps to the center as she tried to match his dignity if that was even possible. Nachson played a modern waltz and Setik began the dance, his brow furrowed as he pictured his father making each step. He didn't know how to lead his partner, so she tried to guess what he'd do next. He missed a step and judging from the intent gestures from his sisters, the three of them couldn't agree what came next.

"Wait," she said to him. "Is _this_ the dance?" She performed the next few motions and got exaggerated nods from all three children. She looked into that copy of her son's face with her eyes and her husband's build. "I taught it to Sarek."

She was at an event when she saw easily the most handsome, charismatic, and powerful man there. In fact, anywhere. Not powerful as in position or wealth or body, although he had all three. _He_ was powerful, his _presence_ was. She could effortlessly imagine King Arthur's knights leaving the Round Table to kneel in front of this man and swear allegiance to him instead. Someone came up to tell her he was Sarek of Vulcan and she would actually be part of the welcoming committee.

 _I'm going to say something brilliant and he'll immediately fall in love with me._

She didn't. She said the same boring thing everyone did; he politely replied, "The honor is mine," and her brain came alive again. "Then I am doubly fortunate." He stopped and looked at her before he had to move away.

But she was the one he searched for when his obligations were done. She later taught him the waltz to help him fulfill a diplomatic requirement. In reality, she wanted him to hold that hand out to her and she'd be in his arms and he in hers.

No, the young men hadn't stopped asking; she'd stopped noticing any hand except that one who offered her two fingers.

Amanda watched her grandson's intense young face and then the twin ones calling out encouragement, suggestions, and critiques to their brother. Trading all the young men for that one had never been such a wonderful deal.

Setik suddenly glanced up. "Grandmother? Did they find the man who captured us this morning?"

People stopped talking and his words rang in the silence. Amanda saw expressions harden and Csala's fangs flash.

 _You can't let your hands go cold now_ , she chastised herself. _Be his grandmother_.

"No, my dear, not yet. But they feel good that they will. He will come out of his hiding place and they will have him."

The twins shifted and Sulu got to his feet. Amanda remembered from somewhere that he was the highest ranking in the room as far as chain of command. Chekov got up and the two of them went to the girls.

Others now got to their feet as well, Uhura was the first. Uniforms of every color stood. _When did it become so crowded_? Even those that didn't get up got the same set expression and she could hear them all saying silently what she had thought earlier. Not just for Spock's sake since he was one of them, not just for duty, but for the connection they made tonight.

Through me, they each thought at Rhinar. You have to go through me to get to them.

Sulu spoke over the girls' heads to Nachson. "Whatever you need, it's yours."

The other man clasped his hand.

Setik looked at his sisters, becoming the big brother looking strong for their sakes. Amanda put a smile firmly on her face and tugged on his hands.

"Are we going to finish our dance?" She waited for his eyes to come back to her. "I hope so."

He nodded once. She went through a couple steps and then into the turn. Her plan to distract him worked because Setik pointed out she changed the spin because of his height.

"That," she was informed firmly, "is not how Father and Mother do it."

 _You sound exactly like your father and grandfather_. "Well, when you're grown and you find someone special to dance with, you can spin her."

He agreed with this wisdom until he frowned. "What if she does not want to dance?"

Sarek's hand had reached out for hers and it was the only one that ever existed. Somehow, Amanda imagined her daughter was the same when her son reached out for her hand. "Who could ever say no to you?" His forehead scrunched and the eyes lifted to search hers. "I'll tell you what you should do. Marry a dancer. That will take care of it."

He relaxed. "I will remember, Grandmother."

She pictured a woman somewhere out there in the future being taken by surprise as a grown Setik held out his hand to ask her to dance.

 _You're welcome_ , Amanda thought to her.


	18. Chapter 18

USS _Enterprise_ , Main Hangar Deck

Rhinar pulled himself back under control. _They're out of Sickbay_. The rumors proved true.

He hadn't needed to ask anyone about the whereabouts and the happenings of Sarek and his grandchildren this time. The vast majority of people spoke about the crew from the future ship being on board and the three Vulcan children who not only were real, they were having dinner and socializing in the Deck 5 rec room. Some people had to be uninterested, but Taushan Rhinar had yet to find them.

But out of Sickbay!

He had run to the rec room to make sure they were there. He nearly hadn't; if they saw him, everything was lost. But he found people coming into the room to see for themselves, including some from the diplomatic parties. Of course, they did. How often does the future deposit a crewman and the children of someone you know at your doorstep? It caused a crowd in the doorway and it made it easy to duck into the middle of them and grab a look.

Setik and his sisters moved about in the center of the room. A watchdog came with them: Nachson.

 _Nachson!_ The moon to Saavik's world or the world to Saavik's sun.

 _Her junkyard dog is more like it._

Rhinar knew him from being part of the refit. Risteárd Imre had just joined the crew at that point, and Rhinar heard him say that Nachson had been Saavik's initial choice for the first officer. He had turned her down, leading to Imre being recommended by her former captain, Truman Howes.

"Why?" Imre asked Nachson. "You would be great at it. Maybe better than me."

"Why, because I'm taller? A first officer has responsibilities that limit how I can serve her. Like Command now saying captains and their execs can't be on away teams together. But I'm better if I'm on that team. Besides, your mind, you can keep up with her."

"Don't make it out like you're some thug. You're more than that or she wouldn't have asked you."

"Thanks, but you're the right one. We'll follow you anywhere. As for height, I'll be your longer legs if you need them. Just holler. Figure together as first and second, we're perfect for the captain. That's all it's about."

 _Idiots_ , Rhinar had thought and only listened to learn the people he'd be up against. Now he sweated. Why couldn't Nachson had stayed on the _Contact_ with Saavik and Imre?

Although, _why isn't she here_?

He could never think she was, not with women stopping each other in the corridors and saying, "Did you hear the captain of the other ship is a Vulcan woman? A _woman_ captain!"

"I wish she was here. I'd love to talk to her."

The conversation was the same every time; from the rec room to the hangar deck, it was identical. But the only thing he counted was this: Saavik wasn't here.

The sense of relief surprised him. He was ready; his plan would work. Yet, thinking of facing Kirk, Spock, and Sarek made him glad Saavik and the men who orbited her weren't on the _Enterprise_.

But the kids were out of Sickbay! How long would they be in the rec room? Rhinar was close to launching his attack; he needed those children back where it was easier to take them. Too many people surrounded them now; he'd have to use something to take out the room and that risked killing the children.

But he could manage it in Sickbay if it was still designated as a nursery, so to speak, with one or two people there with them.

 _They are children_ , he reminded himself. Surely they needed to sleep soon. What… _what if they never go back there_?

Some man in a science uniform and with brown skin, rambled on about something ever since he came down here. Rhinar ignored him although it was getting tougher to do. Just as he leaned his head against the last canister, he put together certain words: captain was Vulcan, unfit to command, look at Spock during some shuttle mission, and when he, the man speaking, had said something was wrong with the Vulcan, McCoy said—

Rhinar's head snapped up. This could work. If the man said the same thing – if they heard – then the children would want McCoy and that meant Sickbay. If not, he'd think of something else.

But there was a reason he had studied these people. He bet he'd need nothing else.

The smile curved his mouth so much that it felt like it spiraled into curls at the end. He got to his feet and wiped his hands down his shirt before he crossed over to them.

"Hi," he called as he got close. He held out his hand to the man who had been talking. "Bill Hall."

The guy shook his hand. "Karam Boma."

"Sorry for kind of eavesdropping. Did you say the other ship's captain is a Vulcan woman?"

"Yeah," Boma spat out. "That's right."

Rhinar made a surprised noise. "Wow, right? A Vulcan woman!"

"It's not the woman part that's the problem," Boma shot out. "It's the _Vulcan_. If they want to command each other like the _Intrepid_ , fine. But not us. They're a mess at it. People can die."

Rhinar nodded as he thought that he really didn't care. "You said something about a mission with Spock?"

Off he went again and Rhinar had no interest in what the guy's grievances were, only that they involved Spock and McCoy. But he furrowed his brow as he pretended to listen.

At the end, he ran a hand through his hair and left it there for a moment. "Listen. What you're saying – this Vulcan captain isn't just someone over there, she affects us, right? I mean, what if she asks Kirk to back her up on some decision and now we're in danger too. You know?"

The others agreed and started concocting scenarios in how this captain – they didn't know her name – could hurt the _Enterprise_.

"Maybe," Rhinar slowly suggested, "you should tell someone in the command crew about it, because it doesn't sound like they're putting two and two together."

"That's not a bad idea." Boma turned it over in his head. "They probably just need reminding. Couldn't hurt."

Someone remembered they were in the rec room on Deck 5 and he was off.

"Good luck," Rhinar called out as Bill Hall. As himself, he had one thought:

 _Thank you._


	19. Chapter 19

USS _Enterprise_ , Rec Room

Things settled around the room and everyone enjoyed themselves. Setik, Uhura, and a handful of people played a children's game from Vulcan, making do with chess and checker pieces to play. T'Kel sat between Sulu and Chekov asking them questions about flying starships as she showed them her drawings. Nachson sat with other crewmen on the other side of the room; engineers came in who had met T'allendil and Sotraun, and people from the landing party that had gotten a cursory glance of the _Contact_ and her crew streamed in too. In fact, one of the men who had been with McCoy came to the rec room, and Setik brought his sisters over to thank him for helping save them.

All the newly arrived crewmen had even more things to discuss with Nachson: T'allendil and Sotraun, his ship, and his captain. He answered what he could, especially for the women picturing a command chair was at last reachable. When no safe topic about the _Contact_ was left, he switched to places they had in common. Soon people laughed over the stories they shared.

T'Pren took a seat with Jennifer Lee and Ambassador Csala; they huddled over her reader to look over the holopics again that the children discovered their mother had put on their readers.

Everyone enjoyed themselves, but one. Amanda sat in the same chair and table as before and watched her grandchildren. _I wish_ …

She told herself not to finish that. She knew her daughter had sent those holos for her and Sarek, once he could break away. And she had loved them. Spock holding an infant Setik in the family rocking chair, making her tear up: _My child is holding his child where I once held him_. The twins at one week old wrapped together in a white blanket, naturally flowing into each other, with T'Kel practically poking herself in the eye with her thumb. A toddling Setik reaching for his father's lytherette, a very young T'Pren sitting on her father's lap having a gibberish discussion, even a three-year-old T'Kel being held by Nachson over his head on orders of her Sa-mekh-rá to go flying to see how a ship did it. Apparently, T'Pren's Sa-mekh-rá swung her up too and the men raced with Ko-Kan running along.

Whispers went around the room at this side of Spock, exclamations over the family sehlat laying at the feet of the children – their mother and father removed from the holo that Uhura apparently had taken, and last an image of a slightly older Sarek with Amanda's hand on his chest and his covering hers. That hand and her outstretched arm were the only parts of her showing, but it was enough for her to recognize herself; she understood the rest of her was cut out so it didn't give away how few or many years away it was. Sarek being a little grayer could be his work or an unknown passage of time; it didn't reveal anything. He looked so healthy and wonderful that a fear that she didn't know she carried drained away. Sarek was fine; the older Spock said he was, but now she saw it. Her husband and son were good.

"Look at how he looks at her," she heard behind her.

 _Yes, he does_ , she thought in a mixture of love for him and pride that she was the one he looked at this way. Maybe a little smugness over it too.

No, something else ruined her mood. Not the fear of the capture returning; that was there but this was different. The holos: seeing her grandchildren as infants and toddlers, that older son and husband… the lives they led before coming here and the ones waiting for them to return became three dimensional instead of a vague abstract.

 _I will lose them_.

Time could not stay damaged. Her son and his family must go home, and she realized with a painful clarity she had held a secret hope that she could keep them. Worse, _I will forget them_.

Her heart broke. Why couldn't she keep _something_ of them? Reminding herself she'd see them in the future somehow didn't comfort her.

Scotty came in the door and apparently was the one person on the ship who had no clue the children were here. T'Kel's eyes grew round and she turned them up to Sulu.

He put it together quickly. "Of course. Come on." Chekov came with them to the engineer. Sulu put a supporting hand around her back. "Mr. Scott? This is Mr. Spock's daughter, T'Kel. You know how they're on board. She wants to join Starfleet, sir, for ship design. We were wondering if you can spare a moment to talk to her."

Scotty looked like he'd rather eat his boot than answer a kid's questions.

Chekov interceded. "Sulu and I talked vith her. She's smart, sir. And it's important to her."

The engineer's expression went from trapped and hating it to such overblown fake happiness that Amanda bit her lip. He bent down and held his hand flat in the air. "We're here in the _Enterprise_ and we're flying in space."

Amanda had to stop the poor man's suffering. "Mr. Scott? I'm Amanda, her grandmother. It's not as bad as all that. She's Vulcan and look who her father is. T'Kel, ask him a question."

The girl instantaneously shot out, "What do the dilithium crystals do to break down matter and antimatter? How do you reach faster speeds than earlier ships? Is it better crystals or a better fusion reaction?"

Scotty's face took a second to get past stunned. He slapped his leg. "Well, now! I should've known who I'd be talking to. Come along here to the computer and we'll talk about starships." He plunked her into the seat next to him and brought something up on the screen. "You want to design, you need the whole picture. So! We're here, lass, and here are the two most important places on a starship. Engineering first and then the bridge."

Nachson turned his head to Amanda. "You're never getting her back, you know."

She smiled and took her seat again.

A young woman with blond hair and tanned skin, set off by her red uniform, leaned across the table. "Ma'am, the kids calling you Grandmother… if you don't mind me saying so, ma'am, it sounds so formal. Wouldn't you rather be Nana or Grandma, something like that?"

Amanda could see her own mother clearly in her mind's eye. They all called her Mother and Grandmother and not because she was standoffish or coldly formal. She simply loved those names. When friends asked her about it, Amanda heard her mother say something she didn't understand until she had Spock and now these grandchildren.

She watched Setik playing his game with Uhura and the others, T'Pren going on about the holos with Lieutenant Lee and Ambassador Csala, and T'Kel gesturing broadly to Scott as they talked.

Suddenly, T'Pren bounded over and took Amanda's face in her hands. She leaned all the way in to whisper in Vulcan, "You are the human in my blood, Grandmother."

She then put her mouth right to Amanda's ear and spoke in barely a breath, "I am _T'hya'thae_. It means the same as your name." She pressed her forehead to her grandmother's before Amanda could take in hearing the girl's secret name and why she had it. T'Pren was too young to know how to perform mind links let alone mind melds. She simply dropped her mental shielding and trusted it came through on some level.

It did. Amanda experienced an undeveloped touch that still let her feel everything her granddaughter was. Including what T'Pren thought and felt for her grandmother.

Amanda's eyes were wet when she transmitted the thoughts and feelings of "I love you too," back to her granddaughter.

T'Pren pulled back and then got the glint in her eye she inherited from the woman across from her. "At least, you are the _first_ human in my blood." She put herself eye to eye so her grandmother caught the spark in them and then sprang back to Lee and Csala.

"The word itself is nothing," Amanda replied to the young woman, just as her mother had done. She drew in a long, contented breath, feeling better. "It's who says it and how."

Love them for the time I have them and try not to think of the rest. You will see them again.

She remembered the older version of her son saying she and Sarek never left their daughter during the twins' difficult birth and even arranged a way to get Spock home in time. She had to remember these kinds of things when she thought of what she'd be losing. She bet she was one of the first to pick the twins up.

Another young lady joined the first; her skin was a lovely light brown, lighter than Uhura, and she was also in red. "Ma'am, another question? What do you think Mr. Spock's wife is like?"

Amanda thought about that; she had been off and on since the children had arrived. Of course, she had an advantage since she had spoken with his wife. She knew some of the things were definite: intelligence, strength, a good heart, courage, a similar but not identical humor to his… T'Kel's temperament – she was guessing on that one. The children's characteristics that didn't come from her, Sarek, Spock, or anyone in their families didn't necessarily come from her daughter; it could from Spock's in-laws, but Amanda did wonder.

In-laws. I didn't think of that. We will be connected to this entire other family.

What were they like? Amazing if their daughter was any evidence.

She thought all these thoughts, but gave the two other women a look like T'Pren just gave her. "I always thought he'd marry someone like me."

They misunderstood; she knew they would. They thanked her and went back to their friends to say Spock's mother thought her daughter-in-law was human. Which was not what Amanda meant, but no harm was done.

Someone called out, "Christine! Where have you been?"

Amanda turned towards the door and saw the wonderful nurse who had been such a help, including helping to run the clinic to free up Dr. McCoy. Apparently, it was here she had been until now.

The woman went back and forth between the children until Lee suggested she join them. They had moved on to musical instruments. T'Pren explained she played the flute, while her twin played both main types of drums, one like Japan's Taiko drums she called to Sulu, and Setik played one type plus the lytherette. It meant they spent two years of strictly building their wrist and arm strength.

"It helps them with physical games and the _kahs-wan_ ," she finished. "My flute-"

Scotty and T'Kel went by as he had her slide her hand along the wall, teaching her to interpret the vibrations. They did the whole room like that, chattering about the number of systems working in harmony in this place alone. "Now, lass, think of going from here to the bridge. We'll take that step by step-"

Setik suddenly appeared in front of Amanda with Sulu. "Grandmother, I thought you might want to speak with Mr. Sulu. He is interested in Botany and we usually have a project at home."

"Yes, please! If you have the time." She asked if he would like to sit and he thanked her. "This has become quite the dinner party."

He spoke a little shyly. "I think he's concerned that T'Kel dumped me for Mr. Scott."

"Well, I'm serious about wanting to talk to you. I would love your opinion on something. Sarek and I have a new plant, a Belegostan Cave Aralia, that we can't get to root. Not the first time we have had this problem, but if you had any thoughts, please let me know. Spock might have records on the garden. I'm not sure." _He hasn't come home in four years. Would he keep anything of it_? She forced that out. Hopefully, that situation grew better.

Sulu's face grew more animated as she talked. "I'll go to the botany lab and see what I can find in the library computer. I'll discuss it with the botanists who work there too. This is something they'd love to check out themselves." He leaned forward. "I've heard of Vulcan gardens and with you naming this other plant – and the holo of the children there, I'll have to get to Vulcan."

She heard the unasked question. "By all means, and you should come to the house and see our garden whenever you can, even if Sarek and I aren't there. I have a gardener who helps when we're away. I'll leave word and he'll show you around. You'll have to stay at the house. We have plenty of room. Besides, it sounds like we'll see quite a lot of each other in the future. This will be a wonderful way to start."

The crewman finally arrived with his guitar and apologized profusely. He had to push through a crowd at the door. "I got waylaid and I never expected they'd keep me that long."

Nachson told him not to worry about it; he had been in that situation plenty of times. He moved the guitar around in his hands. "This is a beauty. The craftsmanship is amazing."

He moved to the center and Setik and T'Pren joined him. T'Kel looked from them to Scotty and her forehead furrowed.

"Go join them, lass," the engineer encouraged her. "We'll finish our discussion when you're done."

Reassured, she caught up with the group. Nachson asked the three of them, "Are we doing our version?"

"Yes," T'Pren replied, eyes dancing. "It best suits us." She turned to Amanda. "We changed some of the English words to Vulcan references. See?"

"Yes, I do. And I am looking forward to hearing it."

Nachson went to the door and slid down the wall next to it so he was seated on the floor.

"He always does that with us," T'Pren burst in again, "so we are more equal in height when we sing. He said things should be equal in a band."

The children moved around him and he called out, "OK, here we go."

Amanda instantly adored it although a good part of that was her grandchildren singing it. But it was a sweet song filled with the magical wonderment of childhood. The changes they made were easy to pick out because T'Pren felt it necessary to point out every different detail. A few times, Setik did, once T'Kel did and once she shot a hard look at her sister for talking and interrupting again. That seemed to do it, because amazingly, they stayed quiet as far as comments were concerned for most of the song, preferring to listen and sing. Nachson just flowed along, playing intermittent music when they explained things to Amanda. They went through two verses and the chorus this way when the younger Spock came into the rec room and the children shot to their feet.

"Fath—Mr. Spock," T'Pren called. "You came at a good time. The best part is next. Do you know this song, sir?"

Nachson calmly told him the name of it and Spock told the girl he didn't know it. "Mother, I came here for you. You did not answer the page."

"Did you page me? I'm sorry, I don't remember hearing it. We've been having a _fascinating_ time." The children gave her high appreciation for the remark. "Why don't you sit, Spock? We are almost finished. Is it a crisis?"

"No. We merely wanted to confirm you and the children are still here."

People in the room began bombarding him with talk about the holos of him, Setik and the twins, asking if he wanted to see them, and gave general comments on how much they liked his children.

 _His_ children. Amanda felt the tension rise in his body.

Setik came over, hands behind his back. Amanda watched Spock immediately make sure he didn't mimic the pose, particularly as people exclaimed on how their resemblance was hammered home even more with them side by side. "Sir, will you join us? It really is the best part."

"My favorite," T'Kel chimed in.

T'Pren nodded. "It reminds us of when you and Mother come home. We prefer you sing it even though Mr. Nachson has a better singing voice than you."

A lot of people's shoulders shook as they covered their laughter with their hands, looking down, or turning to the walls before Spock could mow them down with a look. Except for Amanda, of course, who patted the seat next to her.

T'Pren went on, "Grandfather has sung this part for us once before, you will see why – it has to do with I'Chaya. We will not sing the changes to these words," she explained to Amanda, "especially as we only change one. We want you to hear it as it is and we won't sing until the end because it's supposed to be Father or Grandfather."

T'Kel nodded as a signal to Nachson. He replied with, "Aye, Captain," which earned him a measuring frown.

He launched into the last verse with the boy now a man whose grownup life cost him his wonderment. It returned as he put his son to bed and he discovered his old toy bear tucked in by the boy's side. His childhood dreams reached out with the memories of when he once was the boy with the bear and was again, this time sharing it with his son.

Uhura and a few other women dabbed at their eyes. Chekov noted in a husky voice that he was calling his father as soon as possible. Others promised to do the same thing, and those with children asked Nachson where they could find the old song.

Setik came back to stand in front of Spock. "It really is the best part, isn't it, sir?"

Amanda reached out and put a hand on his arm. "It really is, Setik. It's my favorite too."

Spock seemed to force out the words, "Sarek sang this with you?"

Setik's forehead scrunched in confusion. "Yes, sir. While you played. You both said — Mr. Spock, is something wrong?"

Spock stared at him as if he wanted to demand, _Who are you_? _How do you exist?_

Amanda immediately interceded. "Nothing is wrong, Setik. Quite the opposite. Really," she called over to the girls. Setik nodded and walked back.

She put a hand now on her son's arm. She whispered so no one else could hear her, and composed herself so anyone in the room would think they had a casual conversation. "Spock, what is it, tell me. I thought you had grown accustomed to this. It's not about feeling as if you're obligated to live this life, is it?"

"Mother." He stared at the children. "They are a… siren's song."

She laid her hand on his. "Spock, no! That would mean they're here to destroy you."

"Not destroy literally. They… this woman I marry in the future, this… peace I obtain, they are a life dangled in front of me as the one I could have. But I do not know how. I cannot even conceive of the first steps, let alone take them. It makes me inferior and the view of that life held out of reach becomes tortuous."

Her hand gripped his wrist. "You are never inferior! Especially not to yourself!"

He didn't remove her hand. "Mother. I – cannot do what he has done. When it was an ancestral part of my life – marry T'Pring, have a family with her – I did not have to _think_ about it. It just was. With my years of service to Starfleet, I thought I need look no further. I found bigotry here, as I did on Earth and Vulcan, but enough of this experience gave me peace. But that life… the way he is centered, the way he talks about her, he—"

She looked at him with the same look that glowed in his older self. "He loves her and the children very much. Does that bother you?"

"It is all of it. I cannot find his peace. I cannot be the husband and father he is out of choice. I do not know how." He punctuated each of the words in the last statement as if they were their own sentences.

Amanda leaned her head so her eyes met her son's. She lifted his chin by bringing his gaze up to hers. "Do you think that if someone came to me years before I even met Sarek, and showed me my life with the two of you, do you think I wouldn't be overwhelmed? I would never know how to be that Amanda. And when I see the reflection of who I become in the eyes of this older you, I see I still have so much to do. I am not that person. She is… Amanda _of Vulcan_ , she is something bigger than me. She – wouldn't have struck you like I did yesterday. No, wait. It's true. And that Amanda _is_ overwhelming. But it's also all right, Spock. You will make the steps everyone makes and you don't have to make _all_ of them in one day or a few days. It's a bright future for you and I'm so happy you're going to have it. I'm sure it has its own difficulties, and not everything is always peaceful. But look at the life you've already built. Could you, younger, think you could do all you have? Remember that and _then_ think of what you're going to do today. Just today. You will find that future life with time. You're not cheated out of it. It's not dangling in front of you out of reach. It's a promise, not a torture."

The twins started coming over and he shot to his feet. "I believe I will recalibrate and test the sensors again to ensure that have worked correctly."

He circumvented the three of them like a minefield and left. Setik met his sisters in front of Amanda. Each of their shoulders sagged a little.

T'Kel lamented, "We will never be born. Mr. Spock does not want us."

Amanda waved at her to come closer. "Of course, you will. You're here. All those lovely holos of your life are here. Go ahead and look at them again."

T'Pren didn't bother. "Then he will do it out of obligation because he has seen that he will. Things have _changed_."

"I _promise_ you, it will be all right."

They didn't believe her, that was obvious. She tried to think of what else to say when T'Kel took her face like her twin had and leaned into whisper, "I am _Lne'reá_." She pressed her forehead to Amanda's to pass on herself and all she held deeply for her grandmother.

Setik took his turn immediately next. "I am _Vr'ukaur_."

Each time, Amanda thought _I love you_ back to them and tried to give it her sense that they would be fine, especially since she had a feeling that their doing this now had a touch of them wanting her to know them before they were gone. Or changed.

People in the room had an inkling something had happened, but not what, so they pretended they didn't see it. Ambassador Csala came over saying she needed to meet with a few other diplomats, so she'd say goodnight.

"I told Sarek this already, but I wanted to tell you directly too." She purred in her throat as she watched Setik and the twins stand around Amanda's chair. "Congratulations on three delightful grandchildren, Amanda. They're all charming _and_ you have one to continue the family's diplomatic service. It's such good news."

"Thank you," Amanda smiled. The children said the same with Setik adding a traditional wish for peace and long life.

Ambassador Trorv even sort of, in his own way, gave his approval. Meaning he stood in the center of the room, snorted, and gave a bare nod before he left.

Scotty asked T'Kel if she was done with their talk. She got herself under control and walked back. "What do you think of my drawings?"

He pointed to her reader. "These aren't drawings! These are _designs_. We take these seriously! Let's go over my favorite-"

She calmed and sat closer.

Chapel started coming over to T'Pren and put on an overly bright smile. "What about our talk? I was enjoying what you were saying about your music lessons." She looked around to Setik. "If your brother isn't going to finish his game, he could join us. Maybe," she thought suddenly, "you'd like to show us the books your song came from. You said they're on your readers?"

Amanda began to nudge them when someone near the comm panel called out, "Christine? They want you back to the clinic."

The poor woman appeared to swallow at least a dozen curses before she plastered the smile back on. "Well, I hope we get to talk again."

Amanda aimed that nudge when her grandson did himself proud. "We are likely to be here tomorrow. Perhaps we will see you then."

"Maybe at breakfast," T'Pren said, drawing it out with a look at Amanda. "We will be here…" Her grandmother agreed. "… definitely. You will see us in Sickbay too." That sounded dull; the rec room clearly was preferable.

Maybe they can take a tour or use some of the facilities tomorrow. Get out and about. What can it hurt, now that my three little cats are out of the bag?

A black man in a blue uniform tunic collided with Chapel in the door. He apologized and looked around. He found Sulu, Uhura, and Chekov and started coming over. "I'm looking for you. It's about this Vulcan captain."

None of the tables had available seats, so he settled for standing over them. The children and others in the room, as well as Amanda, suddenly watched him.

Sulu asked the obvious. "What about her?"

"We can't let her make any decisions that're going to affect the _Enterprise_. You have to warn Captain Kirk that it's too dangerous to give her that kind of command over any of us."

Sulu looked even more confused. "What are you talking about?"

"Don't you remember when I was out with Spock, McCoy, and Scott and the _Galileo_ crashed? It couldn't take our full weight back here and some of us were going to be left behind. I asked Spock to do it fairly, to do something like random lots, but no, he insisted on being all Vulcan and using logic to decide which of us would be left behind to die."

"You're an idiot." Nachson got up to his feet under all the stares in the room. He handed the guitar back to its owner with his thanks and compliments on the beautiful instrument. He pulled his gold tunic down into place and crossed to Boma, looking bored.

Amanda had stopped breathing and pulled Setik and T'Pren in closer. She didn't know why, but if she could reach T'Kel, she'd grab her too.

"Who are you?" Boma demanded.

"Nachson, Kyle, Lieutenant Commander, Second Officer, USS _Contact_. And you really are an idiot."

"How's that?" the other snarled.

"Maybe you don't have command training." Nachson shrugged. "Benefit of the doubt. So here's what you would have learned. Spock was making a command decision. How could he get the most lives home? Your way, you could leave the chief engineer. But what happens if the busted shuttle breaks up again on the way home? You're screwed and you lose all hands instead of just the ones you had to unfortunately leave. What if something happens and people are injured? Your way, you could have left McCoy behind. Now those people die and you've lost more lives than you should have. Ask Kirk and he'll tell you he'd have done what Spock said. I know for a fact he has. So do they." He jerked his head towards the bridge crew. "You put together a group that stands the best survival chances. If after that, you still have seats, I'd start thinking about who does the _Enterprise_ need most, because that's still getting the most lives taken care of. Even if it means I'm one of the ones who stays behind. That's the decision people have been making since we first shared a cave together. If you don't like it, get out of Starfleet and bury yourself where they don't need to make that decision so much. Or where you at least won't hear about it. And remind me never be in a landing party with you."

"Funny." Boma went toe to toe with him. "You standing there, bragging that you know it all, and I don't. And yet, back then, when I said that they must have done some damage when they put Spock's head together, nobody in that shuttle said I was wrong. Think about who was there."

Amanda rose hurriedly to her feet and started to say something when Sulu interrupted sharply, "You're wrong, Boma. We talked with Captain Saavik for hours. We each said we were impressed with her."

Chekov cut in. "As for vhat you are saying about Mr. Spock, I don't care vhat anyone said then. You von't say these things now."

Boma shook his head. "Unbelievable. Chekov, you know how much Spock drives you crazy. I heard Captain Saavik looks pretty good in her custom uniform, but I didn't think you'd let it cloud your judgment."

Nachson went to Setik's game pieces and picked up two.

"What about me?" Uhura insisted. "I talked with her and I saw her record. I agree with Sulu and Chekov, and I certainly don't care what she looks like in her uniform."

Sulu took a step closer. "Captain Kirk gave her his approval. That should tell you you're wrong."

Saavik's second officer came back in front of Boma and held out his two hands. He grinned broadly. "We're going to do this your way. You talked about your superior officer and in front of these kids." He motioned with his head towards them this time and Boma's jaw dropped. "You talked bad about my captain when you don't deserve to judge her at all. I could make a command decision and report you to your superiors. I could knock you to the floor. But, like I said, we're doing this your way. So here we go, random lots." He held out his palms. "We got a checker piece and a chess queen. I picked the queen, get it? Now I close my hands, shake them up behind me, and you pick. You get the queen, I listen to my superior officers - both of them would say control myself including the human - so nothing happens. You're off the hook. Now, you get the checker, I punch you in the mouth." He widened his eyes and his grin to an almost psychotic appearance. "Ready, random guy?"

Boma shoved him away, boiling. "You're the one who needs to lose his attitude. You said I should ask Kirk? Don't be so sure he'd side with you, because when I said something's wrong when they put a Vulcan's head together, McCoy said – _McCoy_ said – it wasn't the head, it was when they put together their hearts."

Nachson's fists tightened. So did his lips over his teeth. "Shut up."

Setik reeled and touched Amanda's sleeve. "…Dr. McCoy said that?"

Boma had the grace to look apologetic, but for the wrong thing. "Yes, I'm sorry, but he's only showing that he wants more for you. You're part human, don't lose the chance to be that instead of… something wrong."

T'Kel went to her brother's side. "Is that why Dr. McCoy said that thing about playing like human children?"

"Of course," Boma replied, glad they finally got it. "He wants you to be normal."

T'Kel's black eyes went from one crewman to the other that had insisted on hearing what she knew of Earth. "Normal."

Nachson moved in a blur. The easygoing nature blasted away as he grabbed Boma's shirt in his fists, the game pieces falling to the carpet. The long fuse had finally burned down and he bared his teeth in a snarl. "I should have put you down the second you opened your dumb mouth. I would now if _my captain_ wouldn't still have a problem with it. Remember to thank her for you being in one piece if you ever see her."

He shoved the man back into the table and whirled around to the very quiet Setik. "Don't listen to him."

Setik stared at the far wall. "He was not lying."

Amanda was outraged at a level she had not felt in a very long time. When did this end? When did her son and his children get free of this? Sulu and Chekov got up and flanked Boma before she could say something.

"Apologize," Sulu demanded.

"No." Heads swiveled in surprise to Setik. "There is no need to apologize for speaking the truth. He reported what he and Dr. McCoy think of my father. It is also what _he_ thinks of me and my sisters."

The latter 'he' was unquestionably McCoy. Setik's shoulders tightened, but he did not bow under the looks aimed at him. Even as his foundation crumbled with his young father denying him again and now McCoy... his whole life with McCoy was turning out to be a lie.

Amanda went to put an arm around him when she felt a weight on her left side: T'Pren. T'Kel stood a step away where she looked from Sulu to Scotty and back.

Boma took a step forward and reached for Setik.

Nachson shoved him so the other man struggled for balance and then he spun towards Setik in the same move. "Hey, we don't listen to these – kinds of people, remember? I don't care what he says. He's one meditation away from being a nothing to you, isn't he?"

Setik looked down so he didn't have to see anyone. "It is not what _he_ says."

Sulu, Chekov, even Lee, started shouting things and Nachson held out a hand. "Please, it's nice of you, but give me a minute."

After hesitating, Uhura at least moved a few steps closer, but the boy couldn't look at her. Scotty's face was in pain, maybe remembering he hadn't stopped McCoy or Boma.

The _Contact_ 's officer gazed at that bowed head. "Okay. This is serious. Let's do it right then."

Amanda's breath and heart caught in her throat, because Nachson knelt on one knee and waited for Setik to join him. He kept his neck bent so they were eye to eye.

"We're talking like this out of respect for each other, right? Because we're equals here. So here's what I think," he said strongly. "We go down there to Sickbay – yeah, me with you. Absolutely it's both of us who's going down there. We get McCoy to come there and your dad. He knows this whole thing best. Then we talk it out, male to male, and we settle this. It's going to be good, Setik. Because we're going to remember that your dad never keeps bad people in his life and especially not in yours. Even if he did, your mom would kick McCoy into a nebula if he was bad people. Now, since I said that about your mom, tell your grandmom why she and your sisters can't come."

"Because females are smarter."

"And?"

"We prefer not to look bad in comparison."

Amanda had been wiping at a tear; now she pushed her fist to her mouth. She wasn't sure if she'd sob or laugh anyway.

"That's why they're in charge on your world. But-" Nachson shifted on his knee so he looked at the twins, "—we're coming back so you know what happened. It affects you too. I think your dad should come back with us. What do you think?"

They quickly agreed and Amanda let out a breath. She was about to insist Spock return with them.

"Maybe," T'Pren suggested tentatively, "Mother could…"

Nachson immediately settled that concern. "I'll get a message to your mom. Your dad will probably beat me to it. Don't worry."

He straightened and then snared Boma again, his eyebrows pulled down and his top lip pulled up. "You are so damned lucky. Come on, Setik."

He escorted the boy out.

The room became the aftermath of an explosion in their wake: unnatural silence and ringing ears with people staring at one another. Both Sulu and Scotty called for T'Kel and then did the awkward play of each telling the other to go first. An announcement broadcasted notifying their shift was to return to their stations. The engineer banged a fist on the comm panel.

"This is Scott! Why in blazes are we going back to stations?"

"Captain's orders, sir. They think they have a breakthrough on the other ship's sensors to find the saboteur. The _Enterprise_ will double-check their results."

He deflated. "Aye. Scott out."

He knelt down awkwardly with T'Kel. "I hope we get to finish our talk, lass."

Her feet were planted wide but she seemed to lock her knees to keep that stance. "Because you want to teach me to be normal."

"No," he said sincerely. "Because I liked talking to someone with a good head on their shoulders."

Sulu added, "I work with your father every day. Pavel," he jerked a thumb over his shoulder, "works with him even more than that."

The Russian interjected, "He's the only person ve admire as much as the keptin."

Sulu finished, "Captain Kirk wouldn't make him first officer if he wasn't a good commander."

Uhura leaned down to say a similar thing to T'Pren, but the girl's words stopped her. "Does Dr. McCoy say these things a lot?"

Amanda watched them exchange looks and her heart sank.

"They tease each other," Uhura finally answered. "Have you seen them do that?"

The twins slowly nodded, but their obsidian eyes said for them that they saw she hadn't told them no.

T'Kel stared at Sulu. "Do you say these things?"

"No," that deep voice so reassuring, "never."

T'Pren stayed focus on Uhura until she understood. "No, I don't say them." She looked at Amanda. "I'm so sorry, we have to go."

Amanda forced a smile. "Of course, you do. Maybe we're finally getting this man."

"Ma'am?" Boma hadn't moved. He only waited for the others to leave – with glares in his direction. In fact, a lot of the room had cleared. "I didn't mean to upset the little boy or any of the kids. I was trying… You won't believe this, but I saved Spock's life later that day. So did McCoy, even though Spock said we shouldn't have done it. That it was illogical. Everybody seems to have forgotten that." His body sagged.

Amanda started walking towards him and the sight made him babble. "I just don't want this other captain thinking the same sort of thing. That our lives are illogical to save or logical to risk when someone like-"

She stopped in front of him and interrupted this. "Thank you."

His mouth worked a few times before he got out, "What?"

She felt the twins come stand on either side of her and a little light showed at the darkness. Her granddaughters came to her as was traditional, the eldest female grandchild and the blessing of a second one, because it was a family matter. If their mother was here, she would stand at Amanda's side.

"Thank you," she repeated, "for saving my son's life. I am indebted to you for it. We all are."

He swallowed. "That's all right… I really didn't mean to upset the kids. They seem real… cutesy." Amanda peripherally caught T'Pren leaning forward to see T'Kel and the latter doing the same thing. "Maybe something good will come out of it like they'll learn to be more-"

A young voice spoke from Amanda's right side. "We are Vulcans."

Boma stared down, his forehead creased with lines. "What did you say?"

T'Pren's face was set and when she spoke, her voice was deeper, as much as being a child allowed. "We are Vulcans. We are not cutesy. You are right about what we are taught. However, there is a reason _why_ they teach us emotional controls at this age or have you not noticed my sister?"

And T'Kel _smiled_. A young _le-metya_ on her first hunt.

Boma jumped in surprise and stared at her wide-eyed.

Amanda pressed her lips tight together and got control over the laughter. "Thank you again, Lieutenant Boma, for saving Spock. Now if you'll excuse us."

She led the girls to the far side of the room, hoping he'd take the hint, and tried to gracefully drop into a seat. She took a hand of each twin and had them stand in front of her. T'Kel's features were already normal, showing the smile had been an act rather than actually dropping her mental controls.

"Well!" Amanda still fought back a smile. "That was quite... dramatic."

T'Pren glanced up. "Do you think so, Grandmother? I was not sure, but we have done this before. Setik is usually with us."

"You do this regularly?"

"I do not know if it is regularly, but more than once. We use different words."

T'Kel told Amanda, "It depends on what part of us they dislike."

The smile died on hearing that; although, the colorful way they did it gave her some pride.

T'Pren asked, "Is this what Grandfather and Father mean about a… distraction?"

Amanda squeezed her hand. "Yes, that is exactly what they mean."

That gave especially the younger girl something good right now, hearing she had been like Spock and Sarek. Amanda, on the other hand, imagined their expressions when they heard exactly what T'Pren had said and T'Kel had done. It would make her feel better if she didn't remember what conversation Spock was having about now.

A red-haired woman in an equally red uniform came in the room, already greeting people as she entered, and missed Amanda and the girls. She slipped into a chair that put her back to them. "What are we talking about?"

"Vulcans and—"

She leaned forward excitedly. "Good topic. Have you seen the ambassador?"

"Val—"

"He is amazing to look at it, isn't he? Then he opens his mouth to speak and that _voice_ comes out. It will make you melt. It made me melt, count on it."

"Val! His _wife_ —"

"—is my personal hero for recognizing him for what he is and not letting him get away. It makes her the smartest person in the universe."

Amanda burst into laughter. The other woman spun at the sound and saw her. Amanda gave her a wide smile. "Would you like me to introduce you?"

The woman beamed beautifully and waved in appreciation of the comment. She returned to her friends, totally guiltless. And why shouldn't she? She had only complimented Sarek and Amanda.

 _You are completely what we needed right now_.

She noticed the slow way T'Pren started to blink and how T'Kel took a deep breath that looked more like a withheld yawn. She made a decision.

"Come with me, girls." She stood up and made sure they followed. "It's near your bedtime."

Naturally, this brought up an argument of how they were just fine. The only part she bothered to discuss was T'Kel asking, "Are we going to Sickbay? I do not want to go there."

"Besides," T'Pren argued, "Setik is there."

Amanda soothed them. "We are not going to Sickbay. You are spending the night with your grandfather and me in our cabin. I will let your father know. He can bring Setik later or maybe he will have a cabin and prefer to bring you all there."

This got a great result. "Maybe," T'Pren suggested, "we can talk to Mother again before we go to sleep."

"Especially," T'Kel argued as they went into the turbolift, "as we do not need to sleep yet."

Amanda ordered the lift to Deck Two. "I've heard all those arguments from your father growing up, so don't even bother."

T'Pren thought of something. "Grandmother, Setik will want to speak with Mother. So perhaps we should go to Sickbay first to get him. What do you think?"


	20. Chapter 20

USS _Enterprise_ , Main Briefing Room

Kirk rubbed the space between his eyes. "What have we gotten so far?"

Saavik had stayed on the large screen since he and McCoy put her up there. The older Spock appreciated that, especially when Sarek had arrived. He may not be able to present his wife the way he wished, but at least he could in some manner. Sarek appeared appreciative of Saavik so far, an achievement with his thoughts on Starfleet and her position on Vulcan.

She replied to Kirk, "In the matter of the slingshot warp, I am fortunate my warp drive remained intact as yours did not. T'allendil, your department currently maps the general location for all humans serving here, so we may pinpoint any additional lifesigns."

The Vulcan science officer dipped her head slightly in acknowledgment.

"However, we remain where we started with finding Rhinar."

Both Kamila's and Dardar's faces fell at that. Spock thought of his children and went through the data again on how they might find the man before he attacked.

Sarek folded his hands on the brown brocade tunic covering his chest. "In regard to the Coridan system, we may have discovered this man's motivation. However, we cannot find the answers to the questions that arise regarding what actions he will ask of me. Most likely, we will remain unable to answer them until he reveals himself."

The younger Spock had left a few moments ago to check on Amanda and the children on his way to the bridge. The older Spock sat between Kirk and Sarek; he addressed the air as a way to speak with everyone. "We hold one advantage. The children remain here on the _Enterprise_. All evidence points to Rhinar wanting them as part of his strategy." He put his head down to cover his looking to his wife; he saw what the others would miss: Saavik's careful control. As he looked back, he couldn't believe what he caught Sarek doing: an infinitesimal tightening of his hands. "To do so, he must reveal his location to the _Contact_ 's scans and make an attempt to transport to this ship. Both actions would be discovered."

Kirk shifted in his chair and then stretched his shoulders backward. "He could try to beam the children out, but both ships have their shields up. We also figured out how to detect what's sabotaged on the _Contact_."

"Work progresses," Saavik reported.

McCoy scrubbed his eyes. "I don't think Frances and I have been of any help."

Spock disagreed. "Eliminating concepts, such as what his biology can and cannot do, is equally important. We cannot afford to inefficiently use time with false notions."

McCoy pushed his empty plate. Yeomen had brought in dinner for everyone a little after Uhura, Sulu, Chekov, and Scotty had left.

Spock didn't know if Saavik had eaten; normally, he would not be concerned, but their children were in danger and he did not want her to be, as the humans said, "running on her nerves." He didn't know the last time she had slept either; he had come home the night before they left – yesterday, his time sense clarified – and had slept himself. His wife had certainly come to bed with him, but that hadn't involved sleeping. She was still there next to him when he drifted off, but she wasn't when he awoke. She had gotten up to handle the last minute details of the mission.

They had both seen the children prepare and leave for school before they beamed up to Saavik's ship.

"I have a suggestion," the doctor said now. "We take a different approach to finding this man. Let's say he's not in stasis or anything like it. Hear me out. We get rid of it for the time being and see where it takes us."

Spock lifted an eyebrow. "Quite logical, Doctor."

McCoy started to say something derogatory, but he suddenly looked at Sarek and Saavik. He clamped his mouth shut.

 _This can be quite useful._

Frances Stewart spoke. "If we set aside the stasis idea, we have what left? That he's dead. We can't confirm that until we possibly find the body. So put that aside for now too. Next possibility is what Dardar said earlier. He left the ship."

"And went where?" Kirk asked. "The obvious conclusion is Rhinar came here. The problem is, we have all repeatedly checked that the landing party came back alone."

"I suggest," Saavik began, "we continue with this same process. We set aside the landing party and his not being with them. Start with a new question for a new insight. Ask ourselves, if we wished to transport covertly, how would we do so?"

A beat of silence followed before the sounds of chairs moving, but Spock got to the computer first. They put aside that Rhinar came with the party, but that didn't mean he hadn't used them.

The party had been split, McCoy's people and Scott's. Within the engineer's group, people naturally separated to cover more ground. When Kirk ordered them off the ship, two men first called to be beamed out from there. They canceled it and the transporter operator shut it down. Except-

Spock needed to increase his controls because if this played out the way it looked... "He affixed the beam."

McCoy asked, "He what?

He saw peripherally that Saavik already worked on this from her side. And she had the quicker systems. "You might say he – piggybacked on our containment beam, Doctor. He used a secondary one sent for the landing party and appears to have deflected it into the closest station. At that point, he closed the _Enterprise_ 's beam so it appeared unused. Saavik, you must verify the ship's recordings for these coordinates and time stamp." He sent them to her.

"Here." She already had it. She displayed the recording of one man from the party. A second quickly joined him and suggested they call for a beam out from here; the first man did so, but Scotty told them to join the main group, not knowing how close their transport beam was. The second man looked like he veered off, but appeared again as they ran to meet up with the others.

McCoy shouted, "Hold on!"

"Yes, Doctor," Spock agreed. "We have seen him too. This latest person has blond hair, the previous one is dark."

Saavik went back and replayed it zooming in.

"That's got to be him," Stewart said. "What happened after that?"

Spock pushed the system to get his answers. Saavik fed his station with hers, so the data stream was faster, as she continued to check on her side as well. They nearly moved in time with each other. "He had a station there deflect the beam to itself. By doing so, the _Contact_ 's transporter station does not read any usage, because the _Enterprise_ truly transported him on board. Our own station reads it on a general level as one beam out with no real additional power draw. He… landed here on Deck Twenty-one."

Saavik leaned in. "He did a site to site. He is on the _Enterprise_! _That_ is how he eluded our scans."

Kirk's eyes darted around. "But we scanned — he used his ability to go into stasis when he got here. We need security around the children, and Ambassador Sarek, you are not to go anywhere without a guard."

Saavik shoved off the desk to her feet. "I will beam out immediately and will bring Security teams. Where are the children now?"

Spock quickly replied, "My younger self reports they are with Amanda and Mr. Nachson in the Deck 5 rec room."

She punched a control. "We will transport them here. Bimojigar, raise Nachson. Inform Imre to take us to red alert. Confirm Tran has his teams outfitted and have them report for beam out to the _Enterprise_. Connect me with Transporter Room One."

Kirk called out, "Wait. If they're still in a rec room, they have a lot of people around them. That helps. Spock… you know I have to say it. If we don't go to red alert, we don't tell Rhinar that we're on to him. That gives us the advantage of surprise."

He went on, "Saavik, that goes for you beaming over. Rhinar has been ahead of us this whole time. He knows you're not here because you think he's on the _Contact_. If you come over now, he'll know we figured it out. The same with beaming out the kids. I'll get the command crew to the bridge, so everyone is in place like it is a red alert. I'll say it's for checking your scans, meanwhile, we'll run our own."

"Captain," Sarek spoke, "I am concerned for the children."

"I swear, Ambassador, it's a red alert without all the noise. Spock?"

Spock looked down at his folded hands, but his faith in Kirk was absolute. He agreed.

Kirk turned from him to the large screen as he talked. "I'm sure you want to talk to your wife. Saavik, could you let her know?"

Her husband could hear the tightness in her voice. "I have."

Spock glanced up through his bangs to meet his wife's eyes.

Nachson watched Setik as they walked to Sickbay. The kid held up under the weight pressing down on him and that said a lot about him. "You know when I say the girls are smarter that I'm kidding. I just thought you might like it to be just you with your dad and Dr. McCoy."

"Yes."

Held up didn't mean not hurting under the surface. "Setik, I'm not saying this isn't bad. I know it is. I just want you to think of a couple other things too. McCoy's done a lot of great things for your family. He just operated on your granddad. He did that major, major thing in carrying your dad's _katra_ or you wouldn't be here. Nobody loves your mom and dad like him, _and_ I bet he loves you even more than that. He's always inviting you to his family things, he brags about you to everybody. Didn't he almost deliver you when your mom went into labor during that sandstorm?"

Setik's eyebrows were fiercely pushed together, but he did say, "Yes."

"Would your mom let him do _that_ if he was bad?"

The boy stopped and took a long time to lift his head. "Perhaps she does not know? Or she did not have a choice?"

Nachson stopped too and crossed his arms over his chest to appear deep in thought. "I don't know, she's pretty smart. And she's known him a long time. Not as long as your dad has, but a long time."

People moved around the corridor and did a double-take at Setik. Nachson signaled they needed some privacy and they politely moved along.

He sat on his heels. "Like I said, it's bad. A bad thing to say and bad that _he_ said it. I'm saying, maybe things changed. Or they already started. Your dad did take him to his wedding… both times. You know?"

He got a little nod and decided that was the best he was getting for now. They reached Sickbay quickly and he walked in ahead. He looked back to make Setik sure got in the door before he called out for McCoy.

Arms snaked around his head and a hand grabbed his chin. A million thoughts happened at once.

He needed to shout to Setik.

He was going to die.

He still needed to try to save himself.

He failed his captain.

He failed her son.

He realized how much he loved his girlfriend.

He wished he'd realized it back when they first asked each other if they wanted to get serious.

He wished he knew if she loved him.

" _RU_ -!" he immediately started shouting as soon as he felt those arms. He reached to break the hold on his head at the same time.

Rhinar snapped his neck and his body dropped to the floor.

Setik watched Nachson murdered in front of him. He backed up for the door and spun when his kidnapper dropped the body. He put on a spurt of speed, but not enough and not soon enough. He felt Rhinar lunge and get his ankle. He twisted to nerve pinch his attacker, but a hypospray jammed against his leg.

 _I will not escape. I may not live._

He took all of his fear and all of his horror oily writhing under his controls, opened his family bond, and _screamed_ into it until darkness took over and he fell to the ground.

He did not know Rhinar put his unconscious body in a duffel and walked out of Sickbay.

Nachson's communicator beeped.


	21. Chapter 21

USS _Enterprise_ , Main Briefing Room

Saavik listened as Kirk went on, "They're all back on the bridge. I agree about sending—"

It didn't matter what he said next because Setik suddenly _screamed_.

It slammed through her mind and pushed her back in her seat. She crashed a mask down over her face to let out nothing that hearing her son's cry did to her. She experienced his horror and then fear in less than a second later. He never stopped shouting until it suddenly ceased. She didn't know which was worse.

Her bond to him dampened with his silence. Not like when he was unconscious; then the bond still thrived between them. This felt like someone jammed down shutters on a lamp.

But he was alive. She still felt that, and now that she thought, she recognized the shout was a warning. Setik had used the emotions as an alarm to his family.

 _The twins!_

She risked looking at Spock. His own face froze at the scream and he found her eyes on the viewscreen.

Kamila Patrik must have seen something in her captain's expression or Spock's. Maybe she simply sensed that giving Saavik a distraction was a good idea. She shot to her feet, clutching at her temples, and bared her teeth in anguish, continuing the smokescreen that she could be Spock's wife and the children's mother. Frances Stewart followed her and T'allendil's expression filled with a Vulcan's shock at a child taken.

People — McCoy, Kirk, Dardar— shouted what was going on, what had happened?!

Except for Sarek. Saavik watched him still at the sight of his own son's silent pain. He knew; he couldn't hear Setik like he would in the future or at least not as strongly, but he knew something had happened to his grandchildren.

 _I should be there. My mistake cost my son—!_

That did Setik no good. Act now, _think_ now.

 _Where are the twins?_

She wanted to demand it out loud, but time still shackled her. She would not know about Setik if she wasn't his mother.

Spock pressed his hands flat on the table. His voice roughened. "My _son_ has _cried out_ to warn his family he was taken by this man… again."

 _Now_ she could act! She hit the control for the bridge. "Red alert!" It didn't matter much for the _Contact_ with Rhinar and her family on the _Enterprise_ , but it meant something.

Imre jumped back immediately. "What happened?"

Saavik forced steadiness. "Setik has been taken by Taushan Rhinar." She overrode his questions, told him to stay on the line, and checked with Bimojigar on Nachson, only to hear he hadn't replied to her hail. "Hail him again."

Meanwhile, Kirk grew red with anger and McCoy paled. He made a strangled noise in his chest. "Do you know - is the boy alive?" he asked.

"Currently," the Vulcan bit out.

Saavik quickly asked, "Where are his sisters?"

Kirk hurriedly questioned, "Do you know if he got the girls? They were together in the rec room."

Sarek carefully folded his hands. "With my wife. However, she has made no sign she has been attacked."

Saavik got on her feet. "I am beaming over." _At last._ "Patrik, T'allendil, all of you, return to the ship immediately."

Patrik sounded desperate. "Captain! If the women could stay…? You understand that it's personal-"

The commitment to the masquerade was commendable which she had to equally play. "I do understand." _We all know I do_. "However, accomplishing the repairs returns us to our time and this will never have happened. Hold on to that. I swear to you, I will return Setik to his family."

Stewart jumped up. "I'm staying. Captain, please. Whether I'm his mother or not, I want to be around to check on Setik's health once we get him back. You understand, Len?"

He said of course. Saavik caught Kirk's attention at the same time. "I will transport directly to the bridge."

"We'll meet you there. I'm ordering red alert and we'll check on the rec room."

She risked another look at her husband, keeping the mask of stone over her features. Because:

 _Adun, our son._

And the girls. Were the girls safe? The bond to them still radiated.

She kept the channel open to the _Enterprise_ and overheard someone in the rec room report no one knew where Amanda and the twins were now.

"No," Amanda said as they got off the turbolift on Deck 2, "I don't think we should go to Sickbay yet. Let your brother have his talk with Dr. McCoy and your father. We'll call them in a little bit if we haven't heard from them and I'll let them know you want to talk to your mother before it's time for bed."

T'Kel walked on the other side of Amanda from her twin. "It means plenty of time to talk to Mother since bedtime can be postponed."

The cabin door whisked open and Amanda bent down to tease her. "I told you, bedtime is a certainty and it is illogical to argue against a certainty."

She waved T'Pren in ahead of her and held out a hand for T'Kel to walk in with her. But the older girl didn't move for a second as she thought over this certainty thing.

She finally started in. "Grandmother-"

Tenu't _screamed_!

T'Pren froze at hearing it so Amanda got caught behind her, barely in the door. T'Kel froze too and she didn't know what to do. She wanted her father and mother, and she wanted her grandfather. They would make it better; they would get Tenu't back.

She heard Amanda ask T'Pren what was wrong; yes, _Grandmother_ was here! She—

Someone came down the corridor; no, he suddenly was just there. It was him.

 _Him._

T'Kel saw he had his arm in the door so it wouldn't close. He was going to take her, He'd take T'Pren, and _He_ would hurt Grandmother.

Two years ago, someone had attacked the family and a _rage_ had welled up in T'Kel so that she grabbed the man's arm and sunk her teeth savagely into his skin. She had shaken in the aftermath, her mother and father curling themselves around her and easing it away. But she had tasted the blood for days.

This was different. Now she felt – desperation; she got hold of it. She could not let _Him_ hurt T'Pren and Grandmother. She threw herself at him as she ordered the door to lock. She remembered Command Imre saying something about knees being a good target, especially when someone was short. She put her head down and rammed _His_ knees and he fell.

The door locked behind her grandmother and twin. With her on the other side. With _Him_.

She ran.

She was fast, she knew that; she got it from her mother. But he was an adult and she was small. She had to get somewhere safe, quickly. But where was that? Her mother was on the _Contact_ , and she didn't know where her father and grandfather were. Mr. Nachson? Where could he be that _He_ stole Setik from him?

She heard _His_ running steps; he was on his feet and catching up.

T'Pren suddenly _yelled_ into the family's bond like Setik had. T'Kel did the same. Father and Mother would know the man hadn't stopped with her big brother. _Stay in the room!_ she kept telling her twin.

She could feel _Him_ close again. She had to do something! But she didn't know nerve pinches like her brother did. She abruptly threw herself back and rolled into a ball. _He_ couldn't stop in time and fell over her, striking his head against a wall with an audible _thud_.

T'Kel shot to her feet and took off again.

Where was _safe_? Anyone would probably help, but she saw no one. Father and Grandfather were somewhere else. Mother on her ship. Grandmother back in the cabin where T'Kel would have to go past The Man to reach her. The corridor was empty.

 _We're here,_ lass _, and here are the two most important places on a starship. Engineering first and –_

The bridge! Her Sa-mekh-rá was there, even if he didn't know that's who he was.

 _He_ ran again, but he limped – only a little and blood ran into his eye - except He still came after her. She pushed herself in speed until she almost couldn't get her feet to keep up with her brain screaming, _Run! Run! Run!_

What would she do if a lift car wasn't there? But one was. She shouted as she ran inside, "Emergency! Lock the doors!"

They slammed tight as she saw _Him_ barely miss them. She heard his muffled yell, "Computer, override! Lieut—"

She never wasted time listening to him, but instantly got out what Saavik had taught her to say if a crisis happened. _Do these words work here_? Her little hands fisted. "Help! I am a civilian in danger! Confirm override with the bridge!"

The turbolift rushed her away as she leaped into the air to grab a handle. She didn't know for sure, but she thought she had to hold one. Grandmother had when she rode with them in an _Enterprise_ lift.

T'Kel's feet swung above the floor. Her strength from being Vulcan and her drum lessons let her hold on with one hand and twist the handle with the other. She pictured the map Scotty had shown her _step by step_ and the route the lift needed to take.

The doors snapped open and she ran out. Her gaze landed right on Sulu who stared at her like everyone else and she hurled herself at him.

"T'Kel."

She ground to a halt. _Mr._ Spock came from his station, but he looked …different. Not his uniform or physical appearance, just something in the way he looked at her. "What has happened? You informed the computer you were in danger."

 _You will not care._ "The same man kidnapped Setik again."

"Red alert!" he snapped. The bridge went from its soothing, ambient noise to the klaxon broadcasting in a harsh, angry bellow. Spock dropped down in front of her and held her shoulders. "Where is your sister?"

T'Kel blinked. He looked like… _Father_. "With Grandmother in her cabin. The man tried to take us too."

"Security team to Ambassador Sarek's cabin," he ordered. "Lieutenant Uhura, inform the captain. He most likely will know from my older self."

"Confirmed, sir. Captain Kirk reports they are on their way."

"T'Kel." His voice gentled so that he sounded more like Father too. It made things better. "For the moment, you are to remain here. You are safe. I am going to your sister."

A sudden voice called out, "Why have I returned here? Get me to the _Enterprise_!"

T'Kel spun to the viewscreen. _Mother_! She heard but didn't pay attention to Imre saying, "Their shields are up. We barely got you back, ma'am."

" _Enterprise_ ," Saavik ordered before she even turned to her own screen, "lower your shields."

Her mother saw her.

T'Kel wanted to do something, but she didn't know what was allowed. Was it okay to at least say, Captain? Or would people think she wouldn't talk to the _Contact_ 's commander?

Mr. Spock had gone to the captain's chair when Saavik mentioned the shields. "We did not raise them, Captain. Standby."

He looked over his shoulder at the girl. "You said T'Pren is with your grandmother, secure in the cabin?"

She nodded and edged towards Sulu. He was still her Sa-mekh-rá, someday.

"Uhura, contact Amanda. Confirm they are safe and their Security team has arrived."

"Yes, sir."

"T'Kel."

Her mother said that. She looked back at the viewscreen and Saavik spoke in Vulcan. "I am coming. This will not prevent me."

Spock's head came up on that before he dismissed it as obvious. "Yes, of course, you know the captain. You have stated so as your father works with her."

T'Kel understood on some level that he thought Saavik was a source of strength for her because they knew her as a captain. She was, after all, commander of Vulcan's forces.

So T'Kel was free to look back at her mother and say, "Hurry."

"I am."

Uhura told Spock, "Security reports Lady Amanda and T'Pren are safe in the cabin."

"Lieutenant Uhura," Saavik requested, but her eyes stayed on her daughter. That made things better too, T'Kel thought. "Inform them to remain in the cabin until further notice."

Sulu held his arm out for the girl to come closer. "No one is going to get you here. I promise. Pavel and I can show you the helm and navigation while you wait for your sister."

She took a step towards him and the always interesting astrogator. But no one had said yet, so she asked, "When will you find my brother? You should check all the crates like this morning. Where is Mr. Nachson?"

She heard the lift open. Somebody grabbed her around the waist before she could turn.


	22. Chapter 22

Note: Saavik's officers come from a variety of cultures; their surname conventions adhere to them, so if it seems off, it simply is a cultural difference.

* * *

USS _Enterprise_ , Bridge

Kirk picked T'Kel up as he went by and put her in his captain's chair.

"We've lowered shields," the younger Spock reported from his station.

Saavik immediately spoke, "We are beaming there now. Sending coordinates."

The younger Vulcan called over his shoulder, "Everyone hold their positions. They are beaming throughout the upper and lower decks."

Kirk ordered the alarm sound off; they needed to speak and hear, and the entire ship had already been summoned to red alert. The alarm lights still flashed everywhere showing they hadn't stood down.

The transporter hum was different, the way the beam coalesced was different and quicker, and the party less stiff as they stood. But what struck Kirk most was that Saavik was on the _Enterprise_ at last. Finally face to face.

Her people looked like an invasion force with the way they surrounded the bridge, phaser rifles in their hands or slung on their backs, and their captain as their point. Kirk took in her set stance, the belt holding a phaser, and the powerful impact of her presence. He shook his head amusedly at himself that he ever questioned her ability to command in these conditions.

Saavik instantly looked to T'Kel, but said to him, "We need to transport the twins. Imre," she addressed the screen, "do we have a lock on T'Pren?"

Kirk only heard the voice; the man stayed off screen. "We got—dammit! _Enterprise_ , your shields are back up!"

Both Spocks attacked the science station and Chekov worked on his. He bit out, "Ve can't lower them, Keptin!"

Saavik stood across from Kirk, on the other side of T'Kel now. He advised instantly, "The brig, agreed?"

"Agreed. While they remain here, it is the most secure location for them."

Kirk reached down and touched the girl's shoulder with a smile. "You are incredibly brave. You keep it up. We're still going to have that fleet." He started to move.

Sarek asked from his spot on the deck below Science, "The brig?"

Saavik answered, "The brig employs a high-level force field surrounding the entire cell, not merely as a door. It means in the event Rhinar lowers the shields, he cannot beam your granddaughters away. Nor can the force field be controlled from elsewhere."

He saw Sarek's mouth part, undoubtedly ready to ask where the saboteur would beam the girls with the _Contact_ 's shields up too. He stopped asking when he realized, _deep space and a bad death_.

"Wait," T'Kel called Kirk back. That solemn face made him hitch his trousers and squat down, eye to eye. To hell with the back pain. "We wanted to tell you - T'Pren... Tenu't and I - that we think very highly of you. The highest." She shot her hand up as much as she could to indicate just how high the level was, in case he didn't understand. "We told Mother so and she said you would want to know. Father agreed."

He looked back, equally serious. He gave Spock's wife silent thanks. "Your mother was right. And I want you to know I think the same way about you, your brother, and your sister. The highest." He indicated a level way above their heads.

Her expression grew more intense. "The way we are?"

 _Why ask that?_ "Absolutely. The three of you couldn't be better than the way you are." He took hold of her hands and laid an arm on each one of the command chair's. The way he and Saavik would sit. After all, T'Kel could change her mind and go into Command. He could mentor her like he did Sulu. "We'll get Setik back too, I promise. From a little brother to a little sister who knows big brothers are the best heroes in the universe."

He got out of the way this time so the older Spock could take his place. He went around front of Sulu and Chekov and started them on diagnostics for their stations. It was the best place to look first for how Rhinar took over their shields.

Saavik gently touched T'Kel's shoulder like Kirk had done, but stayed as the girl's father spoke to her.

"T'Kel, it is important I ask you two questions. You will not remain here long." The look she shot him clearly thought it better to stay as long as possible. But if Rhinar got a transport lock on her… "How were you away from your brother? We thought you were together."

She explained Setik left to go to Sickbay; McCoy asked why which made her frown and look up again at her father. Spock decided that could wait and asked how was she separated from her twin. She summarized that too into bare facts with the younger Spock reporting on her giving the computer an emergency override signal and his actions since her arrival on the bridge. The older Spock leaned over her head and spoke in Vulcan against her black hair.

The younger version spun around, mouth open. Saavik had moved to crouch at the foot of the captain's chair and kept her eyes away. T'Kel herself didn't know what to do.

"If I can ask," Kirk began, "what did you say?"

"I said," the elder Spock stated, still facing his daughter, "you are an exceptional re-creation of your mother." He kept that hand around her even as he looked back at his younger self. "I do not concern myself at this moment that it might bother you to hear it." His eyes swept the bridge. "I do not concern myself over what is read into it. I concern myself with you, T'Kel. You are what I said," he told her gently, "as well as being unique, as are your brother and sister. Now, let us reunite you with your twin in a place of safety."

Kirk told him appreciatively, "Excellent work, Mr. Spock," and McCoy seemed ready to applaud. The younger Spock frowned, but his captain could tell it wasn't out of discomfort or disapproval; simply… thoughtful. Saavik touched the girl's hand and then signaled her people.

Jaxon Tran knelt down next to T'Kel on the other side from her father in the space his captain just left. His low voice rumbled richly deep into his chest. "Look at you, Tiny T'Pau, holding court. You do your House proud. You remember me and my brother? I thought you would. You're going with me, Suhayl-Wajih, and Oda," pointing each person out. She craned her neck around to see them and they each smiled or gave some other gesture in greeting. Suhayl-Wajih made a salaam to her. "Caleb is taking Trujillo and Chen to get your sister. You heard, we're moving you both to a secure location. Does that sound good?" She nodded. "Good."

Caleb, brown where his older brother was blond, leaned on the captain's chair. "Can T'Pren hear you at all? She's right below us on the next deck, so it's only a few feet." A beat as T'Kel tried, then she nodded again. "Let her know we're on our way, so she knows who to expect. Is there something we can tell her so she knows it's safe?"

Her face scrunched up before she motioned for Caleb to get closer. She whispered something in his ear and he whispered it back to make sure he had it right. "What language is that?"

"Hers."

Caleb looked across to Spock who explained. "T'Pren creates words if she does not know the actual ones. This means she created a great many in her earlier years. The children know them as a simplistic language. Even I and my wife cannot speak it fluently as they can."

T'Kel spoke up. "She created these words now."

Jaxon peered up at his younger brother. "That's perfect."

Caleb said to the girl, "Tell T'Pren that she and your grandmother can't open the door except to my team with that passphrase."

The younger Spock reminded them, "One of our own Security teams is there."

Saavik replied promptly, "Inform them they must stand down once our team arrives. The same for any officers assigned to the brig."

McCoy shouted at her, "Just a goddamn minute, _Captain_! You have no right punishing anybody on the _Enterprise_ for not knowing the kidnapper was here! Or have you forgotten that you did no better?!"

Saavik swung on him and he jumped, startled. "Dr. McCoy, I am incapable of forgetting the mistake I have made. It was a critical error in my logic, thinking the saboteur was on my ship. I made the children vulnerable and Rhinar took advantage of it." Her eyes flicked to the older Spock but didn't stay there. "An apology is not enough."

Spock's voice was rough. "It is unnecessary. You did not fail me or the children." T'Kel nodded emphatically.

Caleb Tran looked like he thought the plans had changed. "Captain?"

Saavik held up a finger to McCoy, asking for a minute, and shot her head back to her people. "Mr. Tran, why do you remain here?"

She meant both of them. Caleb dipped his head and Jaxon got to his feet. The Security teams, minus one woman, escorted T'Kel to the turbolift. She seemed so small next to the very large men and women, and when they unslung their phaser rifles, it became startling. But because they surrounded her like a fortress, that vulnerable look disappeared from her body.

Saavik ordered the brothers, "Put both girls together, they will feel safer, and two of you are to remain inside the cell with them at all times. Another two stand outside the cell door and the remainder of the teams in the corridor."

"Aye, Captain," both Tran men responded.

Caleb's team, made up of Olivia Trujillo and Chen Isamu, took the first lift to get T'Pren and Amanda under their guard. Jaxon took the extra minute to speak with T'Kel. "Stay in between us and stay close to me. In fact, would you be okay climbing up on my back?"

"Why?"

"I want to make sure that I go with you if someone tries to beam you somewhere."

In case, Kirk knew, Rhinar dropped the shields now to transport her out or if he cut the brig's power later, leaving it defenseless for him to beam out the girls. Hence Saavik's order for Security officers to constantly be right with the twins and most likely why she had stayed, armed, with the girl when T'Kel was in the captain's chair.

The idea should have added to the fear and tension pushing in on the child. Instead, she scampered up the wide back before he could bend down and popped her head over his shoulder, her eyes bright.

She leaned over further to look into his face. "You are a human sehlat, Mr. Tran."

 _That's why she took comfort rather than getting upset_ , Kirk thought. _She found a connection_.

A rumbling chuckle agreed with the girl and Jaxon deepened his voice in imitation of her pet's growl. "I'm proud to be one. Here's our lift."

The older Spock had crossed over and put his hand on her head again. He whispered something as they got in the turbolift. Sarek already came to his son's side to say something else to her. T'Kel looked right at father, to her grandfather, and then… at Captain Saavik.

 _Kid's got a bit of hero worship for someone besides her brother_. It made sense. Kirk was glad Saavik kept her own eyes on the girl. Some of her mask eased a bit too.

He heard T'Kel say, "You remind me of someone else, Mr. Tran."

"I bet it's—"

The lift closed and they were gone.

McCoy spoke suddenly, "I just thought of something. She really will be the next T'Pau someday, won't she? She'll be the head of your entire family." He chewed it over. "I can see that. She'll look great in that divan chair."

The older Spock passed by him on the way to the science station. "She and T'Pren plan to do it jointly."

"I can see that too. T'Pren might take it all the way. The Federation Council better prepare itself. They'll probably answer to her sooner or later."

Saavik turned back to the doctor, the hard stone back across her face, as she finished telling him what she had started. "Doctor, I do not ask anyone on the _Enterprise_ to pay for a mistake, and I recognize it may be difficult for all of you to stand down. However, you have lives you are meant to live, and they don't include anything happening with this event. You experienced this yourself with—"

Kirk's heart squeezed. _Edith Keeler_.

But Saavik named, "Captain John Christopher and returning him to his point in time to fulfill his life. My crew and I must take the risks for you to keep you on your timelines."

Kirk was grateful for her not bringing Edith up for discussion. McCoy looked chagrined. "Of course. I should've realized it. I'm sorry, ma'am."

"No apology is necessary, Doctor. Except for mine to Mr. Spock's son." Saavik's voice numbed on that last sentence, but she said nothing more. Her head turned to someone on her far left.

A tall woman, taller than anyone on the bridge, had kept to the side. Now she moved to Sarek. She had very close-cropped dark hair and coffee eyes, darker than her naturally bronze skin. She appeared to be in her late twenties, the same as Caleb Tran, and her muscles stretched her uniform sleeves. Her voice held a Guadalajara accent. "Ambassador, I'm Lieutenant Maja Christos Sandoval. I'm assigned to you, sir. I won't get in your way, but I screen anyone who comes up to you. If we need to leave the bridge, I'll be standing close for the same reason they told T'Kel."

"Of course."

"I know it's a lot of weapons, sir, especially around the girls. We're using nothing if we don't need it. Your daughter-in-law told me something for you: there's a reason the vine doesn't engulf the _lirpa_."

Kirk couldn't fathom that at all, but Sarek's eyes took on a brilliance. "An excellent reminder, Commander. My wife, is she safe?"

"Yes, sir. You heard Mr. Spock – the younger one. He had a team get to your cabin. We had another one beam over to Sickbay and they'll go help the Trans. Caleb won't go anywhere without them escorting your wife. You'll see her soon. Your son needs to stay here on the bridge for the same reason." She looked at the two of them. "Both of you, sirs."

Kirk asked Saavik, "Why Sickbay?"

"I heard the report that the twins were not in the rec room. I thought Sickbay the next logical location."

Uhura's board bleeped again and she quickly answered it. "I have two, sir. The first is a message from Caleb Tran. Amanda insisted on going with the twins to see them settled in the brig. She'll come here afterwards. He took an additional someone from the Sickbay team so she has two for her protection. The second is from Sickbay itself." Both Kirk and McCoy started to say something. "She wants to speak directly with Captain Saavik."

Bones asked, "Who, Chapel?"

Saavik returned to the upper deck and said to pipe it through.

"Saavik… it's Frances."

Saavik stood perfectly still before her eyelids slowly closed. Everyone knew in that instant what had happened to Nachson. Kirk had held on to the hope the man was either knocked out or had been taken with Setik. Even that he had been unconscious, but trailed after Rhinar now with something wrong with his communicator. Looking at Saavik, he bet she had too. Her logic would have told her not to assume anything.

Frances explained, hushed, "The Security team called me to come to Sickbay after they beamed in."

Saavik's mouth parted for a moment before the single word came out. "How?"

Stewart held on to her professional distancing the way her captain held on to Vulcan control. "His neck is broken. There's no signs of a struggle, so preliminary theory is Rhinar got up behind him - and then he took Setik."

Uhura, Sulu, and Chekov sought each other out with distressed looks.

"Leonard," Stewart called out, "by now somebody's told you that we have to take the risks for all of you. That's the reason they called me first. It's still your Sickbay."

"It's fine," McCoy started. "I'm only sorry I couldn't spare you this."

Kirk moved to the railing right below the other captain. "I'm sorry, Saavik. It's never easy to lose one of your crew. You were obviously close."

Frances whispered, "Half the crew thought he was in love with her."

Saavik's head tilted like she could hear Kyle's response. "Untrue."

"I know. I asked him back when I first met him. You know how he… was. He said even if it was that kind of relationship, he knew -"

Her captain mouthed it with her.

"-he wouldn't be able to handle you."

That mask over Saavik's features set tighter. Kirk could see it. She held on to it though; he couldn't imagine how. "Frances, inform the crew. However, notify two people privately before the shipwide announcement. He was involved with a woman – you will find her name in his emergency contact file, which will most likely surprise her – and you must also speak with Mr. Spock's wife, or at least give the pretense of it. In addition, we must keep Nachson's body here. Shields are raised or I would return you with him to the _Contact_. Remain secure."

Stewart had to get over her surprise that Nachson secretly had a girlfriend and then who it was. "The only thing not surprising is you figuring this out. Don't worry, a couple of the Security team stayed with me. Saavik, listen to me. Remember who is to blame here. Please. Stewart out."

Saavik touched the rail lightly as her eyes looked back through the years. "`With my life, with my… death, I serve you. Captain of mine, I am yours. Command me.'" The mask suddenly cracked. " _Damn it!_ "

 _That_ wasn't Vulcan. Jaws dropped around the bridge with one exception: the older Spock. She sealed the break in her controls shut. "I beg pardon."

If anyone had a complaint, like Sarek or his younger son, the older Spock didn't allow it. He came closer to her. "The cause is sufficient. He was a good officer, his commitment to you was exemplary, and he was a good man. My wife and I always appreciated his dedication to our children."

She inclined her head to him and spoke with her usual husky overtones now deeper. "The priority is Setik."

"Yes, it is. What do we have?" Kirk had just said that minutes ago, hadn't he? But a starship captain didn't get the luxury of wallowing, something Saavik gave a good example of. He went around to the communications station and spoke to Uhura over the rail. The crew must go nowhere alone. They were to also report if they saw Setik, even if he seemed willing to stay with the person he was with. "You have Rhinar's image from the _Contact_. What about one of Setik?"

Uhura replied, "A number of the crew knows what he looks like, Captain. They saw him at dinner. If we can get one of the children's readers, it has holopics of him that I can broadcast."

He saw and heard her sadness. "Ask one of Saavik's people at the brig. See if the girls have their readers. They can load holopics for you. Or just ask the _Contact_."

Sulu and Chekov had turned in their chairs and obviously heard. "Yes?" Kirk asked.

The helmsman answered. "I told Commander Nachson that we – the whole crew – would give him whatever he needed to protect the children."

Chekov held his usual fire. "They'll tear the ship apart to find this man, sir."

Kirk replied gravely, "Then we'll live up to our promise, Mr. Chekov. Uhura, if people in the crew made that personal connection… let them know about Nachson as well, and that the twins are safe. They'll wonder otherwise. Sulu, diagnostic results?"

"All our diagnostics came back clear, Captain. We haven't found anything else that's affected. Everything is responsive except the shield controls."

The younger Spock stood at his station as he addressed the group. "We have a second issue."

"Second?" McCoy asked.

"The first being our inability to lower the shields again. The second has been my failed attempt to find Setik on our sensors. My older self and I already had Lieutenant T'allendil run her own scan from the _Contact_. It proved unsuccessful as well."

Kirk pounded on a railing. "I am tired of this! He can't have Setik in stasis!"

McCoy agreed with the protest. "That band only works on his own people and Frances would have noticed someone using a stasis chamber."

The younger Spock corrected a misconception. "We are not saying both are in stasis. Rhinar himself is awake and showing on scans. However, we only know we have an additional human on board. We do not know which of the readings is him. Therefore, we cannot pinpoint his location."

The older Spock said, "Nor could Rhinar have installed a stasis unit of his own for Setik. It would require a linking to the ship's power and we would have seen the additional draw. So would Mr. Scott."

Kirk hovered a thumb over the button to contact Engineering built into his chair. "Let's get Scotty to confirm that. Rhinar could have rerouted existing power." He jammed down on the control and gave the engineer the order.

"The shields," Saavik asked. "His ability to control them, does it give us a theory on his location?"

The younger Spock stepped forward. "He was able to raise them which prevented you and your crew to beam here. We lowered them only to have him raise them once more in thirty-three seconds. Since then, we have been unable to control them, and yet, he controls nothing else."

"So at one point, he lacked the control he has now. Why?"

Kirk at last lowered himself in his chair. He ignored the back pain from picking up T'Kel. "What if-?" He spun towards the science station. "What if he didn't raise the shields the first time to prevent Saavik from coming here? What if he did it to keep the _Contact_ from beaming out the twins? And him?"

The older Spock thought out loud. "A prevention despite our inability to find Setik. He would not take the risk we would discover him, nor would he want to lose T'Kel and T'Pren."

Sarek spoke. "If I might offer a suggestion. The fact you could lower the shields the one time is telling. As is Rhinar's hastier attack on the twins and his lack of communication since capturing Setik."

Saavik's expression cleared. "He thought the children would come to Sickbay together. Instead, he needed to leave Setik behind and be away from whatever controls he used for the shields to attempt capturing the girls. It is why we could lower them. He returned to his location, recognizing he could not attack the twins again, and raised the shields once more. Now he makes whatever preparations that prevent us from scanning them." Her head swung to Kirk. "He has been aboard for some time."

His head reared back. Rhinar hadn't only been hibernating today. "He's been sabotaging the _Enterprise_."

 _How did he get access?_

"The number of ways to seize control of the shields," Saavik continued, "must be limited. Ensign," she said to Chekov and they worked on how Rhinar could have done it.

"If something else vas vrong," the Russian told her, "I vould say it is Auxiliary Control."

Kirk swung around to Uhura. "Let's make sure that's true." He nodded upwards and she called down to the room. The younger Spock checked and reported an Ensign Poole was meant to be there.

"No response," Uhura said.

Saavik headed for the turbolift. "Contact Commander Tran. Inform him-"

"Captain Saavik," the communications officer interrupted. "Poole's answered. He said everything is fine."

Kirk gave the standard reply of letting them know if that changed and Saavik returned to Chekov, with Sulu now, starting from square one: engineering and where did the call for shield power originate.

Uhura's board signaled again, this time a notice from Saavik's security people that Amanda was on her way up. They intended it equally for Christos so she knew it was cleared. The turbolift doors opened and Amanda rushed out at the sight of her husband. She slid her hands down his arms as her eyes ran all over him, reassuring herself. She then did the same with both versions of her son. She had two guards in the lift: a tall, brunette woman, but not as tall or dark as Sarek's guard, and a man of naturally olive skin with long dark hair & Arabic tattoos on his forehead and cheekbones: Trujillo and Suhayl-Wajih, Kirk remembered. They immediately went back down to join the others.

Amanda let out a long breath and tried to joke. "I think the _Contact_ recruits Norse gods for some of their security officers. Have you seen them?" She noticed Christos. "Hello. You are?"

"Maja Christos Sandoval, ma'am. I'm your husband's protection."

Amanda laid a hand on the other woman's arm. "I will hold you to that."

She caught a glimpse of Saavik and came over. "Someone else new, although I think I know from the uniform."

The older Spock moved to be between them, so he could sweep his arm from one woman to the other. "Mother, may I present Saavik? She is captain of the _Contact_ and the commander of Vulcan's forces."

Amanda looked up into his face with a curious expression Kirk couldn't identify or the one she then shared with her husband who nodded back at her. He did recognize the sorrow that came over her when she returned to Saavik. "You're Kyle Nachson's captain?"

Saavik's jaw tightened subtly. "Yes."

"I thought so. The Security escort told me what happened to him. He was a wonderful man. I liked him very much. He was so good to me and the children." Her eyes darted around the other woman's. "Perhaps you know my daughter personally? If you do, you might know what I mean when I say he was her stray."

 _Daughter_? Kirk wondered. He could guess about the stray part.

Saavik nodded once. "I know the term."

"Does she know about him? If not, I will tell her. I can do it without seeing her."

Why did Saavik's eyes drop? "You are kind. However, she knows."

"He was obviously a special one. Stray, I mean."

A second-long beat of emptiness before Saavik replied, "Her favorite."

"I see. Very special then." Amanda's expression softened more. "I grieve with thee, Captain."

Did the facade gentle? "My name is Saavik."

A little smile touched on Amanda's mouth. "Have we met? For you."

"We have."

That earned her a beautiful smile. "I look forward to it."

"Amanda," Sarek called and she left to go to him, giving the Vulcan captain a last look of warmth. "My wife, you should know our current status. Scans cannot find Setik."

She clutched him again. "But he's alive? That's what they told me."

The older Spock reassured her, maybe everyone. Kirk knew he was glad to hear it again. "He is. My bond with him is there, although it is oddly… stifled."

Kirk asked, "What does that mean? He's unconscious? He must be or someone would have reported seeing him by now."

"Not simply unconscious. That would cause no change. I cannot explain it."

McCoy blurted out, "Wait a minute. A lifesign needs a certain amount of living activity. Heartbeat, a noticeable rate of respiration. Hold on! I'm not saying Setik's hurt and we know he's alive. I'm saying this — man used a neural paralyzer or something similar. That would reduce life signs."

The older Spock's expression masked almost as much as Saavik's. "Is there permanent damage?"

McCoy reassured him, "No. He should wake up on his own twenty minutes or so after he got the injection."

The same Spock asked carefully, "What if he is given more than one? Is there permanent damage then?"

The doctor shifted. "Not if the boy is treated on time. He'll have a full recovery."

"What constitutes as 'on time' and how many would have to be given before it constitutes a danger?"

"Spock, I haven't done it that much to know the limits! I used one on Jim when we were on Vulcan with T'Pring. You remember that."

"Plainly, Doctor. I do not know, however, if you needed to treat the captain. I therefore do not know how long the time limit was before permanent damage is risked."

"I didn't say that was the time limit, just that — at least a minimum of several minutes after the initial twenty, probably more."

It had been several minutes already. Had they hit twenty?

McCoy cleared his throat. "Sorry to bring up two bad subjects together. What's going on now and — uh, T'Pring."

Spock raised an eyebrow, distractedly, as his main focus was naturally on his son. "We do not discuss T'Pring."

Sarek's eyes dropped, Amanda appeared as pained as Kirk felt, while McCoy looked like he wanted to kick himself down the turboshaft.

Spock went on, just as evenly, "My wife has issues with her and the limits to my consort's tolerance are better left untested."

Amanda and Kirk's pained looks turned to small bursts of spluttering laughter, McCoy took a second to get there because of the stunning answer, and Sarek's eyes came up hurriedly in his own version of being surprised. The younger Spock never got past stunned.

Saavik, on the hand, had her back to Kirk; he finally realized that when she turned around to Chekov, her expression shifting back to a mask. He wondered what he had just missed.

Amanda beamed at the older Spock. "You know I adore my daughter already."

"You may presume it is very much mutual."

She called out, "Sarek!" first from surprise and not even knowing she did. Then in growing joy, " _Sarek_." They looked at each other in awareness of something no one else on the bridge understood. Except Saavik who darted a glance at them and then averted her face.

 _Back at the helm_ , Kirk decided. Maybe to figure out the shields issue; he moved to join her and Chekov, but every check gave them nothing.

" _Presume_ ," Amanda whispered to her husband.

Kirk asked this time, "Daughter?"

Beaming, Amanda explained, "Vulcans don't use the term in-law except with someone from outside the culture."

The older Spock interjected. "Equally appreciated by my wife. However, Dr. McCoy brought up the most important factor in his earlier comment. We know why we cannot find Setik or, at least, a strong possibility. It also explains the odd change to our bond."

"Copper," Saavik said suddenly. She stood bolt upright.

Both Spocks went from a thoughtful frown to a new assault on the science station. She nearly joined them, but kept back at the last step. _The physical closeness_ , Kirk guessed and then changed his mind. She had stood near him, McCoy, and Amanda. She was close to Chekov now. Did she have a problem with Spock? The younger one?

Although now that he thought about it, she rarely got close to the older one either.

She clarified over her shoulder, "Vulcanoids are copper based lifeforms."

McCoy snapped his fingers. "We can scan for Setik with that!"

Younger Spock had the station already searching. "It will not be stopped by a neural paralyzer."

"Captain," Uhura called. "Several people responded to Rhinar's description, including a paymaster, a couple people who spoke to him briefly in the corridors and the hangar deck, two people from the Stores Division, and - Lieutenant Boma."

"Is he significant?" Kirk asked. She said his name like he was. In fact, he was the only name she gave at all.

Amanda came forward. "Is he the one in the rec room who spoke at the end?"

"Yes, ma'am."

The older woman's face constricted like a foul order was released by discussing the man. "I should have known he worked with the man who took Setik."

That and Uhura's reaction – added with Sulu's and Chekov's, now that Kirk looked – was enough for him. "Uhura, tabulate everyone's reports and get Boma up here."

Sarek demanded, "Who is this man?"

The older Spock looked to his younger self who obliged. "An astrophysicist, Father. He once saved my life with Dr. McCoy's aid."

Her husband now turned back to Amanda. "My wife, why do you say he collaborates with Taushan Rhinar?"

She pressed her lips together. "He is the reason why Kyle and Setik went to Sickbay." The Vulcans didn't make exclamations, but their body language subtly changed. "He wanted everyone here—" indicating the bridge crew "—to tell Jim not to allow Saavik to make any command decisions. He said he knew from personal experience that Vulcans are incapable of making them, that she would get everyone killed. He related a time when Spock attempted such a decision instead of randomly drawing names."

Kirk's blood started boiling early in her story, but he had to stay on the important point. "Why did that make Nachson and Setik go to Sickbay?"

Amanda glanced towards – Uhura? No, at McCoy who looked like he was going through his own memories. Kirk didn't understand why then did Amanda hesitate, a condition that spread amongst his crew.

"Out with it," he snapped to the bridge. "I expect my people to report on what happened with this boy!"

Amanda appeared to take pity on them. "Your Mr. Boma apparently said at the time that some sort of damage happens when they put Vulcan heads together."

Kirk once saw someone drained of all blood. McCoy looked like that now: pale and shaky. "No… _No_! He didn't tell Setik-!"

Boma came out of the lift. His eyes opened wide at the sight of who was there. "Reporting-"

McCoy launched himself at the other man's throat.


	23. Chapter 23

USS _Enterprise_ , Bridge

"What did you tell that boy?!" McCoy grabbed Boma tightly by his uniform collar until the tightened neck hole choked him. "What were you thinking?! I ought to choke every breath out of you!"

Of all people to pull him off, it was Saavik and the older Spock. He put the doctor in Kirk's hands as she fired off a question that Boma never expected. "Where did you see Rhinar and how does it relate to your arrival in the rec room?"

"I -" he stammered and his eyes darted about the bridge. "I thought they told you what I said and that you wanted-"

She cut him off. "Immaterial. I cannot change the attack, but discovering this man's movements may lead to solutions."

He tried to appear in control. "He was on the hangar deck."

The older Spock came back and he and Saavik moved to different sides. "Did you see what his actions were?"

Boma's head swung sharply back and forth between them. Their wide stances effectively walled him off not only on the sides, but front and back. "Uh… yeah, he had some kind of canisters. I don't know what he was doing with them. I was talking to a couple other people, I didn't pay attention to him."

He tried stepping forward to escape them, but Spock merely had to shift to that foot to cut him off again. Saavik readjusted in the same way. Trapped. Kirk felt no sympathy at all.

Spock's words prevented several people about to ask the same thing. "At what point did you approach him?"

Now that he didn't focus on escaping, Boma's eyes widened at his first good look of his superior officer being years older. "I didn't. He came up to me. He said he overheard what I was talking about and then he suggested I go talk with the bridge crew about it."

"It was _his_ initiative," Saavik repeated thoughtfully. "You did not state you were surprised by his presence or actions. He was in uniform then?"

"Yeah, but he had a different name. Uh… I've been trying to remember it. Hal, Hull – Hall! Something Hall."

The younger Spock reported, "Hall, William, Lieutenant. He created a record in the system. Correction, our paymaster entered it. He theoretically came on board from Vulcan's Deep Space Station V-2 via the planet."

Kirk ordered, "Get a report of his actions."

Saavik walked away from Boma on this and the older Spock did the same.

"That's it?" Boma obviously didn't believe it. He then bitterly shook his head. "You don't know what I said in the rec room."

"I do. However, I repeat," she returned coldly and returned. The man must have hated it because, in her boots, she was taller. Just enough that he had to lift his eyes. "You are immaterial. Rhinar matters. You are also not under my command. Further actions are not mine to make."

"No," Kirk agreed, keeping his grip on McCoy, "it's for me. I want to hear the rest of this statement about your superior officer and his people. In fact, I want to hear the whole thing-" He shook Bones. "—from both of you! Now!"

The older Spock went to stand with his younger version; they both turned away and worked on the scan for Vulcan lifeforms. Kirk saw they had an initial count and now drilled down to place where each person was. At the same time, Rhinar's actions as Hall were pulled. Saavik watched from a continued distance, eyes boring into the display.

The _Enterprise_ captain shot his chin at Boma. "You first. Quickly."

The lieutenant sort of looked at Uhura, Sulu, and Chekov and his upper lip definitely wanted to curl. He reported in summary from the time he arrived in the rec room up to – when Kirk pushed – what he had said about Spock. Then, "Nachson kept insisting that I was wrong. He even said you'd agree with him. So I pointed out that Dr. McCoy agreed with me."

Bones lunged for him again and his anger heightened his strength, but Kirk held on and began to demand the doctor speak up when Boma finished it.

"McCoy said it wasn't Vulcan heads that were damaged, it was when they put together their hearts. They're-" He remembered his audience.

Kirk obviously got angry with McCoy from time to time, but not like this. He could also sense Chekov and Sulu quiver to jump up. Boma unknowingly interrupted again.

"One of the little girls then told everyone about how the doctor had said they should play like human children. You know, like normal ones. Apparently, other people kept asking them to do things from Earth rather than Vulcan. And you asked for Captain Saavik's record for the same reason I said. That's what I heard, sir."

Buckets of ice dumped down his back couldn't have made Kirk both more startled and more pained. Up to that statement, he'd planned to blister both men for what they said. _This is Stiles and his bigotry all over again._ The man's prejudice against the Romulans spreading to Vulcans when they got the historical look at the Bird of Prey's commander. The man attacked Spock with it, the only Vulcan in reach.

But now…

Saavik looked over her shoulder and then returned to watching the science station. The hardest look came from the older Spock, but he too looked back to his work.

 _Because Setik is the priority_. What about later, though, after they got him back? How much of this would return?

Boma spoke in the pause. "That's when Nachson and the little boy went to Sickbay, to talk to Dr. McCoy."

Amanda wisely offered a few more details to end it, including her thanking Boma for saving Spock's life, and her decision to take the girls to her cabin.

The older Spock's head came up from the visor. "Rhinar manipulated you," he told Boma. "You were the tool to drive the children from the rec room. He knew if you repeated your story, Setik would want to speak with the doctor and Rhinar could better attack them in Sickbay."

The younger Spock had stopped paying attention after his own last statement. He pressed controls and an above screen's view of stars became replaced with Vulcan lifesigns. "I will remove this grouping," indicating a cluster of four to his older self.

"Spock," Kirk said in shorthand.

"Yes, Captain. These are ours on the bridge. Theory states Setik is a singular Vulcan lifesign with a human. However, you see we have instead three singular Vulcans with no human."

Saavik glanced to Sarek. "Your aides?"

Kirk caught sight of Boma standing near Uhura, waiting to be dismissed. "Boma, you're on report and you're barred from any landing parties until further notice. One more thing. Nachson was right. I'd make the decision about who came back on the shuttle in the same way. Return to your post."

Sarek was answering Saavik, "Yes, my aides. A moment, Captain. Mr. Boma." The man braced himself. The ambassador's expression warned of an Olympian's retaliation on a mortal. Except the Olympian was in the mortal's debt. "My wife thanked you for saving our son. I add mine as well." He nodded tightly.

The astrophysicist started to say something, then knew when to run and almost made it. McCoy got in his way, but the darker man was the one to speak. He lowered his voice, but Kirk caught it anyway. "We didn't want anything to happen to Nachson or that kid. The fact that it sadly did, doesn't make what we believe wrong. It's just a damn shame that's all."

Kirk ordered him off the bridge and he was gone by the time McCoy leaned on the railing near his captain and best friend.

"Jim, we – we got to get this boy back."

"Yes, we do, Bones. For them." He jerked his head at the older Spock with his parents at his back. Sarek asked Uhura to confirm his aides' locations and have three of the ambassadors come to the bridge. "Not for any sore consciences."

"I know, but—that's the last thing Setik thought about me before Rhinar got him. Jim, if something happens to that boy and he thinks that's how I feel… I just don't know if I can live with that."

Kirk could say a lot of things, but only one would do any good. He clasped McCoy's shoulder. "Then let's get him back, Bones. Oh, you're on report too. Don't treat that lightly."

McCoy gripped the railing until his hands grew as pale as his face. "Nothing you can do to me can beat out what I'm feeling, picturing Setik hearing what I said. How I…"

The elder Spock spoke sharply, "How you provided the reason for my son to walk into an attack, Doctor?"

Amanda snapped, "Spock!"

"No, ma'am," McCoy said hollowly. "He's right."

"No, he's not. Spock, I don't like what they said. I _abhor_ it! I thought you were spared it in Starfleet and instead it's on your own ship!"

Kirk felt bile roll in his stomach.

"But you excuse Boma because he was manipulated, but you tell the man who saved your father's life – and yours – that he's to blame for _all_ this?"

"I did _not_ excuse Boma, Mother-"

Saavik interrupted when she jabbed a finger at the lifesign display and stepped in between them. "This location, is it Deck 8?"

Kirk bet her pointing out the display was innocent, but that move between mother and son was deliberate.

The younger Spock had moved to the side towards his visor, but he came back at her question. She took a few steps away to give him room as he brought up a full schematic instead of gridlines. "Correct. Deck 8."

"Any significance?"

"The reason for your question?" To anyone not a Vulcan, it would sound snide. To a fellow Vulcan, it reasonably asked for more information.

"It is stationary. The only lifesign to remain so since the scan started."

"Setik," the older Spock said. He and his mother broke away to stare at the screen. Sarek came to stand with her.

"The security teams at the brig are the closest," Saavik noted and signaled Uhura before she asked once more, "Why choose Deck 8?"

Kirk dropped in his captain's chair and leaned forward on his knees. He felt his physical connection to his ship click into place like he always did with his chair. "Auxiliary Control is there, so is one of our largest weapons lockers."

"So Rhinar discovered a way to control your shields that remains unknown. Now he will seek a way past Auxiliary's security to control all ship's functions." She rapidly scanned the report of Hall's actions. "I see nothing that aides in controlling the shields. Could Auxiliary Control's security be his need for canisters from the hangar deck?"

"We don't have security measures around Auxiliary Control," he told her. Saavik wasn't the only one who stared. Sarek did and Amanda plain gaped. Kirk gritted his teeth. "I know."

The older Spock didn't let it go there. "We have had issues with an outside force taking control of it."

McCoy shouted, pointing at the lifesigns. "There's a human headed for Setik!"

"Saavik?" Kirk nearly yelled.

"Not my people," she replied. "They would not go alone."

"Mine aren't supposed to either." He hoped disobeying that order didn't get a crewman killed.

Saavik continued, "Zoom out the view, Mr. Spock. There." She pointed at a group of three humans leaving a turbolift. "They are mine. Captain Kirk-"

A crewman _was_ going to get himself killed. "Uhura, we have a man headed for Auxiliary Control! Get him out of there! Broadcast to the whole deck if you have to but warn him off!"

She moved quickly and had an answer in a few seconds. "It's Ensign Poole again, sir. He wants to go after Rhinar, to at least try to get Setik or do reconnaissance."

"No!" Saavik ordered. She stared at Kirk. "Poole is unknown to me, but I know his life did not include facing an armed man from my time period when he himself is most likely weaponless. _And_ alone. Let him know Security is on its way."

Kirk hated it, hated doing nothing, but she was right. He nodded at Uhura to pass on the message not to engage Rhinar and quickly repeated that Poole should heed the order to go nowhere by himself.

 _He said he had only been away from Auxiliary for a couple minutes. Then why has it been empty?_

Was it empty before this?

No one said anything as they watched the crewman run for his life. Rhinar and Setik got nearer to Control and Saavik's people picked up speed. He won, but Saavik assured everyone her team could cut in through the doors.

Amanda worried, "Won't that make Rhinar hurt Setik in retaliation?"

Her husband calmed her. "He needs Setik. I will not speak with him otherwise."

Saavik pivoted sharply. "I am going down there."

The older Spock quickly got on her heels. "I will join you."

She spun back hard. "No, you cannot. You heard our Security measures from Christos. Remain-"

Suddenly, one of her people's lifesigns shot backward at some speed.

McCoy hollered, "What the hell was that?!"

Saavik looked at Kirk. "It's nothing of ours," he said.

"Captain Saavik," Uhura said, "it's your Security chief."

"What happened, Mr. Tran?" she shot out.

He didn't sound surprised that she knew. "Force fields. We didn't know they had them, Captain, and Chen ran into them. I'm betting they're in the other corridors. I'm going to check."

"More than in the corridors, Mr. Tran. Standby and contact Dr. Stewart."

Amanda put a hand over her shoulder and gently waved her fingers without looking back. Saavik came naturally to that spot at her shoulder, a place she clearly held many times before this.

Her brow furrowed. "Emitters are on his report."

The younger Spock called, "Captain-" He saw that got both of them and left it that way. "That is correct. Correlating the eyewitness accounts with ship's records, Rhinar requisitioned the force field emitters this morning. Extrapolating that number with the area surrounding Auxiliary Control, we can surmise these locations." Lighted dots sprinkled around the emergency bridge's schematic. "He does, however, have extra emitters to use."

Kirk swore Saavik and the older Spock thought the same thing he did. "Extend the force fields above and below."

The younger Vulcan's forehead creased at the idea. "We have heard from no one on decks 7 and 9 regarding seeing the emitters."

"Nor did Commander Tran," Saavik said. "They will be in the access tubes."

He raised an eyebrow. "Interesting." He started fixing the schematic when his older self came to his shoulder.

"I would suggest these further extensions," and indicated different points. The circle of dots became a bubble.

"If we regain control over the shields," the younger reported, "we will remain unable to transport Rhinar or Setik with those force fields in place."

Saavik spoke to Kirk. "We need Mr. Scott."

He grabbed hold of his chair arm and told the engineer, "Get up here, Scotty. Now. Saavik." He brought up his thoughts on Poole.

The older Spock answered first. "Quite true, Captain. Poole was not literal in his statement of a couple minutes. He also left his station again, however, we did not give orders for him to remain."

Saavik added, "It most likely saved his life. The odds favor Rhinar controlling the shields from Auxiliary followed by leaving for Sickbay. Poole returned during the time Rhinar attacked the twins and left once again. It is possible Rhinar drew him away in order to raise the shields once more only to leave again for a reason we do not know. Regardless, Rhinar commands Auxiliary Control and therefore the _Enterprise_. It is possible he has done so for some time."

Sulu said, "We ran diagnostics, ma'am. All systems are running."

Her brow furrowed. "If they are like the _Contact_ 's… attempt a course change."

The helmsman checked with Kirk before he and Chekov laid in a new destination. The _Enterprise_ went nowhere.

"Of course," she admitted, "Auxiliary Control would give him that ability on its own. It needn't be sabotage."

Kirk spun his chair. "Spock, show me that report again listing the emitters and the other things that he's taken. Are these canisters on that?"

"No, sir," the younger answered. "Report is onscreen." He also copied it to a padd and his older self brought it to the captain.

 _Force field emitters supposedly for the brig_. Kirk bit down on that bilious irony. _Different metals, a few communicators, tricorders. Foil sealant, Block-IR material… fire extinguishers? He scheduled time in an engineering lab._

What did it add up to?

"The list," Saavik began and so did the younger Spock. She motioned him to speak.

"Theorizing on the purpose for these items," he stated, "raises an additional question. Why has he not used them?"

Sarek asked something else. "Why does he continue to not speak with us?"

Kirk suggested, "His plans were upset. He even had to leave Setik behind."

The ambassador said, "You believe he makes other preparations? In the event I do not capitulate to his satisfaction."

"Yes," the older Spock agreed. "As well as the event we breach his lair. He will have another mode of attack against you, Father."

Amanda suddenly announced she wanted to go back to the twins. Her eyes were on the field bubble surrounding her grandson. "I promised their mother I wouldn't leave them alone." She caught the older Spock looking up at that. "I know they have their Security people, but I mean someone personal. I don't intend that as an insult," she addressed this to Sarek's guard.

Christos assured her, "Didn't take it that way, ma'am."

"No one did, Mother," the older Spock said. "It is an excellent idea."

Saavik told Uhura to send for the Trans, but Amanda protested. "Why would this man be after me?" Significant expressions came at her from all four Vulcans. "I meant now that he has what he wants."

Sarek came up to stand nearly on top of her. He seemed to take in Saavik so naturally at his wife's shoulder as well. The Vulcan captain moved back. "He does not have what he wants. I have not given him Coridan."

She leaned in towards him. "He has Setik. He has no need to take anyone else."

"I will no more risk you on how he thinks than we risk our granddaughters."

Amanda held out her two fingers; he touched them and lingered. When he let go, she waited and smiled when Saavik took her place again. She gave the woman at her shoulder a weighty look who finally appeared conscious of what she had done. She seemed to appreciate a significance that Kirk didn't.

"I was assigned to Vulcan for some time," she said in explanation, "including serving periodically as your liaison and aide."

"Of course you were," Amanda replied.

The lift arrived in the next second with the Tran brothers and three ambassadors: Shahs, Trorv, and Csala who hurriedly went to Sarek only to be stopped by Christos. Saavik moved out of the way and gestured to the Trans.

Amanda abruptly called out to her, "Saavik, be a dear and tell your officer these people are no threat to Sarek."

Instead, Saavik came back and looked down at her with an inexpressible light. "You are well aware of why she does so. This was to gauge my reaction."

"You're my favorite stray."

Saavik stilled.

"Aren't you? You could have simply told me, but then, we are demanding all the women hide or make up things about themselves as part of shielding Spock's wife."

Saavik breathed. "How?"

"The way you spoke to me, it's more than an aide," Amanda said softly. "It's personal. It's more than one of my strays, although that's the connection. You emphasized knowing the term more than knowing my daughter. You would have corrected me about the dear if I never called you it and I would never call you it if we were only professional. You're one of the… wonderfully rare few who come into my life that way and you are rarer than that. You're my favorite. Aren't you?"

Saavik spoke quietly, "So you say."

Amanda's voice took on a special note. "Then it's true."

Saavik's mask almost entirely slipped away and she nodded again, just once. She and Amanda stood poised and graceful, each in their own way, as if the human had summoned the other from The Hollow Hills.

That wasn't Kirk's favorite type of literature, but he valued it, especially when it happened on his bridge. He saw the older Spock watching as well.

Kirk commented, "They're… an enchantment."

Spock did not take his eyes from them. "They have always been so."

Amanda touched Saavik's hand as she passed. "My grandson," her smile faltering. "Please, help my son and husband to do..."

"Anything," Saavik swore. "Everything. I would anyway."

"I know. It simply makes me feel better to know you have a personal reason." The smile struggled back and did when the older Spock stopped her.

"Mother."

She cupped his cheek. "I'm sorry too." She turned at the waist and held out her hand to the younger. He came to stand by her. She not only cupped his one cheek, she stroked it soothingly with her thumb. "To both of you. I was so wrong to hurt you yesterday, Spock."

At his awkward nod and Sarek's visible confusion, she stepped past the captain's chair and changed in nature when she met the Trans on the upper deck. "Gentlemen. Thank you."

Something in the way she addressed them had them each offer her an arm as escorts, but in the next second, a voice caused them to snap their phaser rifles in their hands.

"Hello, Sarek."

It came from the main viewscreen. Rhinar.


	24. Chapter 24

Warning: A child is kidnapped in these chapters. Nothing major happens to him and the couple things that do are off screen. However, it can be upsetting to people and so I wanted to warn all the readers.

* * *

USS _Enterprise_ , Bridge

Kirk learned by his first ship's command how to size up an enemy. By the time he earned his second one, the _Enterprise_ , he had honed the ability more, and Rhinar gave him plenty of opportunity to study the man.

Intelligence filled those eyes and expression. It shouldn't be a surprise because of everything he'd accomplished, but it was. He was a man of breeding and that didn't refer to his genetic manipulation and arranged conception.

And he was deadly.

Trorv's heavy voice covered the bridge. "Is it true about his grandson?"

Kirk couldn't tell how the Tellarite got to be the one to speak first. He didn't ask what everyone else wanted to know, which was _how is Setik?_ But for being Sarek's opponent who had questioned if the children existed at all, he asked if the kidnapping was true with a lot of anger.

Rhinar smiled and dipped his head to them like a welcoming host. "That would depend on what you heard. There are so many… rumors going around. But I will be congenial. Yes, the charge is true."

The three other ambassadors jerked to the main viewscreen, looking more ready for violence than the Starfleet officers. After all, he had attacked Sarek through his family, something every ambassador must live in fear of, and they were from fierce races.

Rhinar's attention shifted. "Lady Amanda, are you leaving us? Off to see the twins amidst their fortress in the brig?"

She strode forward to the main screen and, for an instant, the Lady Amanda that he called her, wife of Sarek of Vulcan, mother of the equally legendary Spock, stared him down. "You have picked the wrong family."

"On the contrary, I have picked the perfect family. You are everything I need, the right combination of power and objects to manipulate."

Kirk could not believe the change in her. She already was impressive, but _this_ woman made him want to swear service. He knew before why someone like Sarek sought her as a life's partner and why Spock held her both on high and close to his heart. But now it was no wonder why someone as strong and independent as Saavik willingly answered that beckoning gesture whenever Amanda made it.

If she explained it to him, she'd say she neared the Amanda the older Spock held in his eyes, the one that was _Amanda_ alone, not defined by husband and son. "It is our combination that will be your downfall." She drew out each word, "You chose the wrong family."

She turned in a swirl of her gown and said again, "Gentlemen." Each Tran brother shifted their phaser rifle to one hand and once more held out an arm to her with a smile. She took them graciously and they escorted her to the lift as if into a ballroom. She asked Jaxon pleasantly like Rhinar didn't exist, as if he was _immaterial_ , "How is Asgard these days?"

The turbolift doors snapped shut.

Rhinar's mouth played with a smile. "The definition of a lady – and of a grand exit." He addressed Sarek. "You will not believe me sincere, but I commend your taste in exceptional women. Not to mention, your ability to win them."

The Vulcan ambassador ignored that. In fact, he said nothing. He stood in a semi-circle with his fellow diplomats, but he turned his body to face the screen, his one hand cupped over the other in front of him in his characteristic way of folding them. His eyes pierced into Rhinar.

He did nothing else.

Rhinar waited, _Kirk_ waited. The older Spock took to his father's side and comprehension came over his expression. He held up a hand to the other ambassadors and their experience in diplomatic service gave them the same understanding. Shras gave a deep nod, not just in acknowledgment but in a warrior chieftain's approval.

Saavik had already fallen in line, so had the younger Spock, both obviously used to the Vulcan ambassador, especially his son. The separation hadn't changed that. When Chekov's hands moved on his board, Saavik put one of hers down on his to stop them. The Russian turned to his captain in silent question, the older Spock looking back as he had with the diplomats, but it was watching Sarek for himself that told Kirk what was going on.

He knew the battle began now.

He swept his people with hazel eyes before he slowly and slightly shook his head as if a larger movement would break the verbal silence.

McCoy broke it instead. "Jim-"

Kirk repeated shaking his head, this time sharply. Then he turned back to the screen like everyone else. He and Shras exchanged a quick glance from the corners of their eyes as he sat back in his chair with his arms on the rests: chieftain. One by one, his people mimicked him.

Sarek left it to the older version of his son to say two words to Rhinar, "Your hands."

The man's brow screwed up hard before he figured it out. "What if I refuse?"

Sarek changed not at all. He had gone from Olympian to Olympus itself.

Rhinar stared back… and blinked first. "All right." He put his hands out on each side of the station in front of him, plainly in sight.

His eyes jumped from Sarek to the older Spock, then Saavik, Kirk, and around the bridge. Kirk and everyone else never looked anywhere but at him. The man's gaze fell to the alarm indicator sitting center on the conn, still flashing red, and he watched it like it was the pendulum of a clock: on, off, on, off.

Uhura's board signaled. Kirk half looked back and nodded to answer it. She reported, "Commander Tran, sir. They've returned to the brig. Lady Amanda is with the twins and all three are secured."

Rhinar, at first reluctantly and then with respect, smiled. "Satisfied?" he asked Sarek.

A lesser man would show triumph or relief, but Sarek was not a lesser anything. At most, the mountain changed to flesh and blood, while remaining empyrean again. "Yes."

Kirk felt Sarek's triumph plus Rhinar's respect and was no lesser for it. It had been one hell of a power move, refusing anything – not a word or gesture – for his opponent until Amanda was safe from the threat of being beamed out into deep space.

The enemy had the grandson; he would not be allowed the opportunity to grab more of the family.

Sarek accomplished something else: he schooled Rhinar that the man held critical cards, _the_ critical card, but so did Sarek. Rhinar _needed_ him.

That part about Setik hurt, but Sarek was wise enough to know that nothing changed for the boy in the short moments while Amanda reached safety. The child would still be unconscious, Rhinar would still hold him, and he stayed the bargaining chip for Coridan.

"Good!" Rhinar exclaimed. "We can move forward."

"Yes." The even tone in Sarek's command didn't change it from being one. "Where is Setik?"

"No, Sarek. You had your move. It's my turn."

That hard voice disagreed. "You attacked and kidnapped my grandson. You murdered a man. You attacked my granddaughters and my wife. I repeat. Where is Setik?"

Kirk swung on the science and communication stations. He thought they had confirmed Setik was the lifesign with Rhinar and not one of Sarek's aides. With a glance, he ordered the younger Spock and Uhura to confirm that.

Rhinar turned silent now. The older Spock reminded him, "All you have established remains in place. We are still on course for Babel and my son remains in your control."

"I'm glad you recognize it. All right. Setik is here, as you know. Let us say… asleep."

The older Spock sounded as hard as his father. "Let us not. Is he well?"

McCoy couldn't take it anymore, especially with Setik's enemy in sight. "What did you give him?!"

"A neural paralyzer, as you have guessed, Dr. McCoy."

The count in Kirk's mind clicked to two and Uhura came back with one aide reporting in. She was trying again with the second.

Kirk wished they could see the boy. It would not only make them feel better, even a quick look would give Bones some sort of idea on how he was doing.

The older Spock bore down heavily on his words. "How many of these paralyzers have you used?"

"One." Rhinar was steady-eyed. "So far."

"One is too many," Spock insisted.

Rhinar knew how to speak. He stroked some words, drew out others, and lifted his pitch on a rare word or syllable. It was different than Sarek's gift; it was listening to a Jazz musician. "Another thing you will not believe, I have an inkling of how you feel. My own progeny, a boy, awaits his birth next year. He will be followed by four other children in the next few years. It is not your way, but I still feel an anticipation to see him, to learn who he is as he grows. And I began feeling a… desire to improve the world in whatever way I could, so that when he arrived, he came into a better place. I wonder, am I so far off from your own thoughts when your wives were pregnant? Spock? Sarek?"

The latter only replied, "Show Setik to us."

"At the right time. You must understand something first."

"What I must understand is my grandson is indeed there with you. Generic scans and statements do not solidify that fact. He could be secreted anywhere on the _Enterprise_ for a number of reasons. Show Setik to us."

"And _I_ said, at the right time. Respect the fact, Sarek, that at worst, we are evenly matched. At best, I hold the advantage. We do what I say when I say."

Scotty sped out of the turbolift and stopped at the sight of Rhinar. The man on the viewscreen forced a light touch. "Ah! The fabled Mr. Scott! In view of my recent career projects, I have studied you greatly."

 _It's a front. He's playing at enjoying himself and making Sarek dance, but he's too aware of who he's taken on._

The engineer came up next to Sulu and leaned on the back of man's chair and the helm. His voice dropped to something as lethal as the person on the screen. "If you hurt that lad or either of those lasses, I'll make certain you disappear into an engine like you were nae here."

Rhinar gave a very fake laugh. "A new side of you. I heard you only assault people over the _Enterprise_."

"You're the exception. Attacking _children_."

Kirk couldn't see Sulu's face, but he heard the same note in the helmsman's stoic voice as Scotty's. "He won't be alone."

"What a shame all this bravado wasn't around to help Nachson or Setik. Didn't you swear you would give him whatever he needed to protect the children?"

Chekov came half out his seat; he wasn't the only one who at least jolted. But Rhinar wasn't physically reachable and Kirk knew better than to pick a pointless battle. His crew took their cue from him and settled in their chairs. Ready.

He raised the count in his head to three.

"I apologize, Captain Saavik," Rhinar spoke smoothly, "for such a reference to your man. An interesting combination of a street mongrel and one of King Charlemagne's Paladins. You may want to know he fought for the child to the last second. I didn't seek to kill him. It was part of the cost of battle. You understand."

Saavik, as a true Vulcan, appeared not to feel the knife blade he twisted in her ribs into her heart, which of course wasn't true. No one cared more than her other than Setik's family. "You are bleeding."

He wiped at the contusion on his forehead with his thumb and looked at the drying red stain. He spread his hands out in concession. "I concede the point. Young T'Kel did well in avoiding my reach. Ah! I see people are picking favorites from Mr. Spock's and his mystery wife's offspring."

Uhura had the last aide's report. The Vulcan had been knocked unconscious by a gas capsule, apparently close to the time Saavik had noticed the one stationary lifesign. He had answered as soon as possible. She sent Dr. Stewart to him.

Kirk thought, _So Rhinar had thought of playing us into thinking Setik was there when he'd be somewhere else_. The plan got abandoned, probably realizing someone would demand to see the boy.

The older Spock refused to lower himself into being taunted by the remarks about his children. "You began a statement."

Saavik moved next to Kirk's chair as Rhinar asked, "What would you say in response to The Trolley Problem?"

The older Spock answered, "An ethical debate on Earth in the 21st century. Their resolution: it is morally permissible to kill one or more innocent people to save the lives of a greater number of innocent people."

Rhinar went on immediately. "A point repeatedly made in Earth studies. One hundred percent will vote to kill the smaller number, including doctors putting aside their oaths. Siphon an innocent man dry of his blood until he perishes so ten ill people get transfusions. True, McCoy?"

The doctor hesitated, but in the end, he played along for the same reason as the others: he wanted Setik back. "Yes. They believed the doctor better serves his oath by saving more lives than the one man."

Kirk knew Rhinar had a purpose and he could guess why they were being led this way. More importantly, their enemy simply talked. He made no violent moves and talking gave them information. Talking let them plan.

Rhinar continued, "It even has existed in your entertainment for centuries. Sacrifice a city of millions to save a nation of hundreds of millions. In reality, eighty percent of the civilians answering the studies swore to kill the innocent themselves to save the greater good. Did you know that, Kirk?"

He answered firmly, "Yes, I did."

"I know you did. What is the percentage of Starfleet personnel who would do that killing?"

He bit out, "One hundred. Before you ask, they're discharged from the fleet if they refuse."

Rhinar emphasized it, "Yes, they are. You take tests to prove you'd do it before you can climb out of the lower ranks. Take a test, send someone to their death, get promoted. What is it you ingrain into them?"

Saavik responded, "Their first duty is toward the ship. How is this relevant?"

"You will see. Do not worry, we have nothing to do until Babel." His eyes flicked down to read his station. "To which we are still on course, not that you have a choice. Now, some people sacrifice themselves, of course. Don't they, Spock? I speak to the elder one, although I'm sure you both agree. Some people even get a following for it. 'Beyond our comprehension, more than we can understand, the cost of his sacrifice, one life for many.' That was by R. A. Foss of Earth. I know all my references are from Earth, but we are on the flagship with a crew complement of 430 where 429 of them are human. Rather lopsided, so my quotes are the same way." He said nothing for a beat, to stress his next words. "You've done it, haven't you, Kirk? Saavik? Sent someone to their deaths for the greater good?"

Kirk snapped an answer for both of them. "Yes."

"I know. You even stand ready to destroy your ships depending on what I do."

The count clicked up to four in Kirk's mind. He ignored the ambassadors' stares and thankfully Sarek handled that quietly.

"A couple were even friends of yours and you killed them, Kirk. Friends and a lover, correct? Would you do it again? Even look right in their eyes as you kill them?"

Kirk's jaw worked. He could see Gary grinning when they met at the Academy. His expression when he accepted Kirk's proposal to be the _Enterprise_ 's first officer. Edith's when she crossed the street in front of the truck. "Yes. To save the larger number."

Sarek interrupted with a voice that demanded an answer on its own. "What is your reasoning? You want a great deal from people you treat with such callousness."

"I needed all of you to see this point and you wouldn't have if it came from me. But now, it's come from you. Sarek, for the greater good of over eight billion people, I will kill this boy. I will kill any of you who try to stop me and I will sacrifice myself if necessary."

"For Coridan," Sarek stated.

Rhinar sat back like they were simply two men discussing their day. "I have made it obvious, haven't I? Yes, your upcoming vote on the Coridan systems."

Csala exposed her fangs with a hiss. Her tail whipped back and forth like a whip, and a rumbling noise like a cross between a growl and a battle roar echoed inside her. And yet, she had claws wrapped on Trorv's arm to hold him, maybe both of them, back from interrupting.

 _They're still backing Sarek's play. So far._

The Vulcan ambassador looked down the length of that Roman emperor's nose. "State your demands."

"Simple. Refuse Coridan's request for membership."

Kirk caught Saavik's and the elder Spock's subtle reaction that Rhinar just gave away the future: Coridan was a member in their time. But it had been inevitable and they both knew it.

The same Spock demanded, "Your reasons?"

"Besides my having your son?"

Sarek said, "A hostage is not the reason. He is the threat used as a weapon to coerce a reason into acceptance. You needn't remind us you have Setik. As you stated, we are already mindful of it."

Rhinar paused and he looked into the past. "When I said I began feeling a desire to improve the world in whatever way I could for my children, it was a literal statement. I sought not my immediate province or nation or continent. I sought a better _world_. Specifically," his eyes suddenly bored into the four ambassadors with cold, near hate, "I sought to give them the world you so violently denied them."

Shras met the accusation head on, "How did we supposedly accomplish this?"

The hate grew in those larger than life eyes on the main screen. "Do you look at what the consequences of your actions will be?"

"Of course."

Rhinar's hands fisted. "I beg to differ, Ambassador. Because if you had, if you had sent out your mighty Starfleet to investigate the area – the _entire_ area – my people wouldn't have found Orion pirates suddenly in our skies and killing us for the dilithium we had. Killing _us_ ," he bore down on the older Spock, "killing _our_ sons because Starfleet now protected Coridan from any more attacks. Who amongst you cared to find out where the Orions would go instead? _None_ of you. We even found Tellarite ships doing the same to our world and the cost in our lives mattered nothing to the Federation!"

Trorv roared, "You lie!"

Rhinar thundered equally, "No, Ambassador! You want the data, I have put it in your systems. Look at it! See what you've done!"

"In return," Sarek interceded, "you wish for us to allow the Coridan systems to remain the unprotected target."

"We outnumber them. Therefore, you must sacrifice the lower number to save the greater number of innocents. As you have proven, it is what the Federation and Starfleet is sworn to do."

Saavik lowered her voice to say to Kirk, "Now we know."

He dropped his volume even further. Her hearing – in fact, all the Vulcans – would pick him up clearly. Those pointed ears weren't merely ornamental. "I counted four times he knew something that happened on the bridge before he contacted us."

"The flight recorders."

"Exactly." He had to raise his volume a bit. "Scotty."

Scotty moved back. "My people are working on bypassing shield controls. But you didn't bring me up here for that, sir."

Kirk told him about the flight recorders, the force field emitters, and Auxiliary Control; the engineer had already guessed the last part. Anyone could recognize it on the main screen.

The discussion brought the older Spock and Kirk bet he looked for an avenue to do _something_ for his son. He wasn't even needed at the science station where his younger self held his post.

Saavik followed up Kirk's statements immediately with, "I have two questions, Mr. Scott. First, can the flight recorders be shut down?"

His eyes darted to the screen. "Aye, better that than be under his eye. But the recorder system is made to be tamper proof."

 _So no officer can hide illegal actions._ As Kirk knew from his court martial trial.

"The amount of time to disable that system," Scotty finished, "would be put to better use against him." He jerked his head.

"Agreed," Saavik said. "Second question, we have estimated where the force field emitters are installed. Will you inspect the diagram to see if you concur? Following it, devise a path through the other access tubes for me to reach those emitters."

Scotty almost forgot to keep his voice down. "You want to burrow like some sort of beastie through the _Enterprise_?!"

She lifted her eyebrows. "Not all of the _Enterprise_. Simply the area surrounding Auxiliary Control."

The older Spock thought he reassured them when he said, "Captain Saavik has experience with the concept. She once broke into a bridge in this fashion."

Saavik remarked in an aside to Kirk, "You were not pleased." He felt his eyes grow wide in his face. "It was, however, resolved favorably."

He opened his mouth and then pushed it back behind his clenched teeth.

She returned to Scott. "If I cannot short circuit Rhinar's entire grid from one position, I only need to create a hole to transport he and Setik from Auxiliary Control. You need not limit yourself to a path consisting solely of the access tubes. In the previous instance, I used the maintenance hatch on an access tube and slipped through components at the base of the science station to gain access to the bridge. I can do such a path again if you find it works better."

Kirk looked at her, barely holding in his surprise, and he caught the younger Spock glancing down at the bottom panels of his station, obviously working on how he'd do what she just said.

Scott looked like he was doing the same thing, which was what he did best: link together every nook and cranny of his beloved lady in ways only he could see. His eyes raked down Saavik, estimating her size and where she could go.

Kirk indicated the engineering station with his head. "Scotty, you need to bring up other schematics so he doesn't see what you're doing. Saavik, Rhinar will want to see where you are if you leave the bridge."

"You have a plan."

Kirk almost smiled at that confidence. He expected it from Spock and it was good to hear it from her too. "It's at least an idea." He told her and the older Spock, knowing he told all the Vulcans. It saved a lot of effort.

Her mind took it through all its levels in a second until her eyes came back to him. "I need to contact my crew."

She moved to Uhura, and Scotty went to the engineering station. Rhinar broke away from Sarek.

"What are you four doing?"

Scotty couldn't look more disgusted. "Seeing what damage you've done to this ship."

Saavik replied, "Ensuring the _Contact_ hears you as well, so both we and this crew may take advantage of any mistakes."

He actually smiled, a real smile. "The famously forthright Saavik. You remind me of someone else. I make no mistakes, certainly nothing advantageous to you."

Sarek seized that. "Are you certain? I must point out that you could have petitioned us rather than use these means."

"We did ask for help and the Federation said we didn't qualify! Our _deaths_ didn't qualify us to live safely! No, I had to come here and stop it before it began."

Saavik whispered to Uhura with Kirk still able to hear. "I do need my ship, Lieutenant. Ask Bimojigar for Suppo and to stay on the line as well. We must also discuss the remainder of Captain Kirk's plan."

"Ma'am, could you wait one moment?" Uhura asked. "I'm running diagnostics after what we've seen with the helm. I could cancel them."

"No, it is an excellent point. We can set forward the details of this plan in the interim."

Uhura, like a good officer, asked Kirk's approval before taking the orders of another captain. He cleared her to answer whatever Saavik said. "And, Uhura, keep this quiet. Act like he's listening in."

Sarek wisely hadn't mentioned the genetic laws as why Rhinar's world failed to qualify. "You could have come here to save your people without threatening this family. You could have spoken to me and I would have immediately appealed on your behalf, as well as Coridan's."

"You'd refuse your help. Like your Federation did in my time."

"Did you attempt it?" Sarek's answer held no disdain.

"…No." Then fired up again, "You're not someone everyone can reach, Sarek of Vulcan!"

Kirk saw a yeoman come out of the turbolift. The young blonde started to come to him, but he nodded at Uhura.

"The mind that created and accomplished this plan to reach me in this way, is one that could find a way to reach me peacefully. I would have made that petition."

"And by the time that goes through, how many of my people are dead?"

Sarek attacked that point. "Have you thought of the other worlds affected by your plan? You say Coridan is no matter. If I could save both them and your world, have you concluded how others in this region will be affected by the Orions and other pirates?"

Uhura talked in a low volume to the yeoman, handing her a padd and telling her to move it through channels, but everyone was to keep it away from flight recorders. Kirk easily hid any reaction from his expression as he thought about his plan going into place.

Now if he could only do something himself.

Rhinar was answering Sarek, "The simple response is, I don't care."

"You should for it negates your point. By adding these additional systems, they now outnumber your own."

Everyone's movements hitched and they snuck glances at the main screen. Rhinar looked as if he had been poisoned before that very controlled, very deadly tone returned. "We still outnumber your grandson, Sarek. Never forget that."

Sarek's head turned to find Saavik. "I am incapable of forgetting that you have Setik."

Kirk's own eyes slipped to the engineering station. _Come on, Scotty!_

Uhura whispered to Saavik, "Contacting your communications officer."

The Vulcan captain tore herself away from Spock's father. "Inform her I want the bridge watching Rhinar's transmission if they do not already do so. They are to remain on the line in the event I require them."

Sarek came back strong. "I have the eight billion people of your world now as my responsibility, in addition to the Coridan systems and the others in the sector. You have clearly studied me as well. Therefore, you know I do not lie regarding that responsibility. You no longer require Setik as a hostage. Release my son's child."

Both Spocks looked to their father at that deeply meant statement.

Rhinar gave several, quick shakes of his head as he kept eye contact. "It's a nice try, Sarek, but responsibility doesn't mean you will save my people over Coridan. Setik stays here. How else can I trust you to do what you say?" He sprung closer to the screen. "I've seen your family let people die after deciding that they can't be helped. Ask your son, Ambassador, about a colony holding hundreds of your people captive right now. All of them tortured and dying."

Uhura murmured, "I have Commander Suppo for you, Captain. Captain?"

Kirk half-spun his chair to see Saavik glued to the main screen. He swung his head back. _A Vulcan colony being destroyed?_ No wonder it got to her.

But Saavik knew not to lose focus. She picked up an ear piece. "Bimojigar, you first. Has the ship heard any amount of Rhinar's transmission before my orders?"

That same man pushed harder on father and son. "Have you thought about them at all, Spock?"

Kirk felt the older Vulcan stiffen.

"Five hundred and fifty-six Vulcans _brutally_ dying right now. I've been to the memorial. Don't pretend what memorial, Spock. I know no one's supposed to know of its existence unless they have family or associates involved. We can discuss that at another time, but I know all about it. You could save them, maybe not all of them, but hundreds of them instead of none. And what about the – others that are there? How many will die before you finally arrive? You only rescued thirty-three, correct?"

Kirk split his attention between Spock and Saavik, so he saw her face go to harder stone than ever, but she never stopped. The rallying cry again: _Setik is the priority_.

More importantly, he stared up at the older Spock who closed his eyes in a Vulcan's way of grief but said nothing. Not even when Sarek looked to him in an unspoken question. Not even when his younger self did.

Rhinar continued, "Or are you like your father, Spock? Going to let innocents die for your own agenda? Of course, you will. You'll say the timeline has to be secure, you'll say it's too important somehow to let them die. Seriously, though, tell me, have you even _thought_ about them? I bet your wife has."

 _An entire colony and Spock is condemning them to die?_

Kirk's heart squeezed hard inside his chest and felt like it would never go back to normal. A colony of Edith Keelers. No wonder the Vulcan looked like he did.

Neither Spock or Saavik would look at each other; in fact, they did the opposite. They carefully and stiffly _refused_ to look at one another. The lightbulb went off above Kirk's head.

 _They know someone on that colony_. Apparently, so did Spock's wife and they couldn't bear to acknowledge it to each other. The way Kirk hadn't been able to look at McCoy or Spock for a while after… Edith.

 _Wait._ Did this mean Spock's wife was Vulcan? Kirk dismissed it. Someone didn't need to be Vulcan to be affected by so many deaths.

"Sarek's going to let your boy die, Spock. Or will it be you? It needn't happen. Not if you follow instructions. We will sit here until Babel, and Coridan will be refused membership. I will then release Setik, although I admit no one who came here with the _Contact_ will go home again. I can't let you undo all my work by returning to our time and resetting it."

Rhinar shifted to Saavik again and his lips twisted. "A pity to have disabled that beautiful ship of yours, Saavik. Not to mention all your people not getting home to their loved ones. Remind me, what about you? Bonded at seven like all Vulcans?"

She refused to acknowledge he existed. "Continue your report," she said into the comm line.

"No, you weren't," Rhinar answered himself. "I do seem to remember hearing you had an… unconventional childhood. So no husband? Waiting for you on Vulcan? Or in Starfleet?"

She snubbed him again.

"Yes, of course. It's a matter of record that you have no spouse or anyone like that… waiting for you back in our time."

Kirk privately admitted to the small satisfied feeling at hearing Saavik was single but knew that feeling had a place and time. It wasn't now.

"What family _is_ waiting for you? Mom, Dad? I read something, something about how the two of them had a… momentous first meeting, leading to them having you. I almost feel like it was written in stone."

Something nagged at Kirk that he should be able to put this together, similar to the reminder on Saavik's directness being like someone else's. After all, whose parents were written in stone?

He breathed, _I'm so sorry_ and hoped she heard him. A gravestone. No wonder she and Spock refused to look at each other. Her parents were two of the Vulcans on that colony.

A more sickening thought. Rhinar said 'others' had survived. _Is Saavik there?_

McCoy stared at her. Usually, Kirk could guess what was going on in Bones' mind. It could be he was put off by her Vulcan coolness in the face of what was happening to all the lives on that colony. It usually set off McCoy whenever Spock acted like that. He probably choked on it now instead of hollering at them because of the Boma explosion.

"Saavik!" Rhinar demanded. "You cannot ignore me."

Because he had Setik.

She finally turned to the screen and sounded… _unimpressed_. _Good for you_. "You are aware you will not achieve the results you wish when you are so obvious in your tactics."

Rhinar smirked. "Don't I?"

"You believe you can manipulate a reaction from me to use against Mr. Spock and Ambassador Sarek. Illogical. You do the opposite. You enable him to observe you and your maneuvers. You used yourself."

The mirth didn't drain away. It hardened into anger. "I can use _any_ of you. Play me now or admit Coridan to the Federation, and you lose. I'll kill the boy on screen, Sarek, and record it, so everyone knows what you've done as it plays in front of your eyes over and over."

Sarek did spare a glance at the other three ambassadors before he slowly returned to the viewscreen. "I already remarked on your intelligence. That is why you know you cannot kill Setik. You would lose your influence over me."

"…You're right, I know it. I always have. Although, I did promise you would see him at the right time." Rhinar swung his arm off the screen. "It's the right time."

Setik dangled from his fist which squeezed that little blue shirt tightly. The neural paralyzer drained the healthy color from him and his mouth hung open, pulled down by gravity and unconsciousness. Thankfully, his eyelids were closed. No one could take seeing those blue eyes blank, dull, and sightless.

He looked… _so small_. Kirk heard McCoy's choked cry and felt his nails dig into his palms from the hard fists he made.

Rhinar finished, "However, you did forget something, Sarek. You, your son – both of them, your daughter-in-law wherever she is, our bold captains, everyone. Have you guessed it? I can't kill him."

The sudden silence dragged for three, interminable seconds.

"But I can hurt him."

He had his reaction now. Saavik flew by Kirk and he jumped up with her, the elder Spock and Sarek already calling out to the screen. Csala roared as Shras yelled something in his own language and Trorv lunged only to slam to a halt because he couldn't reach the enemy.

" _Stop!_ " Sarek shouted.

Rhinar smiled at him as he threw the boy, hard.


	25. Chapter 25

USS _Enterprise_ , Bridge

Saavik hid her face by immediately staring down. She held tight to the edge of Chekov's station as if she merely leaned on it. Romulus and Hellguard lurked under the lowest level of her controls, whispering that a Vulcan would kill if given a reason.

 _Kill, but not murder_ , she reminded herself, pulling her controls back around her.

Kirk had shot up to his feet, so had Scott. McCoy shouted threats and insults like the rest of the bridge. Christos had her phaser rifle in her hands and armed it. It was déjà vu from this morning on Saavik's own ship and the recording of the children in the crates.

Amazing how _alive_ they had looked then when she compared it to her son now.

The few steps between Saavik and her husband were a cold, empty universe keeping them apart. Even finally being in the same room didn't get rid of the divide created by themselves so they did nothing that could reveal her.

 _Do I care about that anymore?_

No, she didn't, except in the only way it would ever matter: risk damaging time and she risked her family.

"Captain!" Imre bellowed into her ear. "We must be able to do something to get _Enterprise_ 's shields down!"

She whispered fiercely, "Hold!" _I must find the way through the force fields or it will not matter_.

And she needed to make sure that any actions against the shields did not bring repercussions against her son. She watched Sarek's folded hands grip tighter and he strode forward. She once saw the largest and fiercest Klingon she had ever met retreat when Sarek came at him like this. Her father wanted the flight recorders, she realized, even though he never looked directly at them.

Her mind already strained to shield itself, hiding her bond with his son, so he and the younger Spock did not know who she was. Now she pushed it further as her controls equally battled that part of her which insisted that if a Vulcan would ever declare murder logical, Rhinar gave her good reason to do it. To save her son, to revenge the man who pledged his service and life to her. To remove the threat, if nothing else, before he hurt her children again.

Sarek's voice held an equal storm, contained, but one he wanted to be heard. "Heed me. You have made a grievous error."

"You will let my people die because I hit your grandson?"

" _No!_ " It thundered around the bridge and Rhinar's smirk faltered. "You mistake your own message. You mistake how these situations work. You are the representative of your people, and you have shown only cruelty and a disdain for innocence. You, therefore, represent a people who are the same. From this moment forward, you must convince me your people deserve to be in the Federation with its peaceful citizens."

"What will you do, _Vulcan_?"

Sarek's head reared up as if an aide whispered something in his ear. "That was fear."

Shras' scarred face pulled into a bloodthirsty smile as Kirk spoke. "He's right, it was."

"No! Aggravation! You said I didn't have to remind you that I have your grandson. Apparently, I do." They all saw the pale hands use a cloth—

—to wipe off green blood.

 _A Vulcan will kill-!_

"Captain!" Imre came back. "I know what we can do!"

"I said, hold!"

Saavik could hear the shock sweep over her bridge before Imre pushed it off enough to answer, "You got one helluva plan going to say that. Tell me what we can do!"

"For now, do what I say and no more. We cannot provoke another attack on Setik. Eventually, you may do precisely what you are thinking."

The younger Spock started forward and then thought better of it, moving aside for Setik's father to stand next to Sarek.

Whose voice was lethal. "You made your next critical error."

"I never expected to live through this. So any threats you make don't matter. Change that vote, Sarek."

Sarek took deliberate, silent steps to stand directly in front of the helm and navigation stations. "I do not doubt you have such a contingency planned. You are not, however, planning to use it as your primary means or it would be done. No, you came to me to negotiate. I am ready, I have the weight of Vulcan. You have the weight of your world. Make your first point to convince me. Harm Setik again and I withdraw further from the vote you want."

"Wait!" Shras shouted. Something had gone on between he, the Caitian, and the Tellarite. They came up to Sarek and the Andorian dared to clasp his shoulder. "The arena is yours, Vulcan. Make him regret he dared to enter it."

Rhinar's eyes darted to look out their corners. Saavik's hearing picked up a bare sound, perhaps a small groan.

 _Setik!_

"Or," Rhinar said, sounding unaffected by the Andorian's threat, "I can make you regret you said that." He picked up Setik in both arms this time. The child's eyelids fluttered.

McCoy's shout probably was heard all over the _Enterprise_. "He's waking up!"

Saavik didn't feel the same pleasure, and she could sense her husband and Sarek were the same. They couldn't speak fast enough.

Rhinar oily smiled at the doctor. "No, he's not." His arm lifted high with the hypospray in his fist like he held a dagger.

" _Stop_!"

They all turned to the younger Spock. He pushed through the ambassadors to stand next to his father. "Exchange me for Setik."

Saavik stared like all the others, although no one looked more stunned than her husband. _How long will I know him before he can no longer surprise me?_

Most likely, never.

The younger Vulcan held up a hand, asking Rhinar to wait, and then folded them behind his back like normal. "I give you an advantage that Setik cannot. He is at his place in time. I, however, due to the circumstances you created, am early in mine. Everything between my point," he indicated his older self with a glance, "and his will be your prisoner as well. All actions, our effect on other lives, the children's existence and my relationship with their mother will be yours to bargain with against my father. I, alone, may not be enough-"

Sarek stared at him as he spoke intently, "An untrue statement. It never can be anything else."

Spock pressed his lips together and darted a look at his father, but he pushed forward. "An entire timeline, however, is a powerful hostage."

Saavik rushed down, the older Spock with her, and put herself where she swore she'd never be: close to her husband's younger self. In fact, she stood sandwiched between them. His eyebrows flew up; she'd never expected him to notice she kept her distance. She hardened her controls and blocked her mind, but she didn't know if it was enough. Too late, she saw she'd followed her normal nature where he was concerned and she should have let his older self speak to him.

But she was here, so she spoke in Vulcan. "You cannot do this."

He barely shook his head. "You do not want Setik to suffer. They are, unfortunately, our only options."

Rhinar shouted, "What are you saying? Never mind. You two bickering is very interesting, and what you offer, Mr. Spock, is _fascinating_. You're right, you're the only one here whose timeline can uniquely be held prisoner."

Spock strode to the turbolift and Saavik had to hold down the instinct to grab him. "I will come alone and unarmed."

"Hold on," Rhinar said, interrupting McCoy running for the lift too. Probably planning on taking Setik to Sickbay as soon as he was released. "So eager, Mr. Spock, for someone who doesn't like these kids. Or the wife that made them with you."

Saavik became more aware than ever of her husband's closeness. He went from watching his younger self to Rhinar, and she knew he calculated if he could substitute himself for the young Spock. She knew because she calculated the same thing: herself instead of Setik and either version of his father.

"But Setik does have an advantage that makes him outweigh you as a hostage." Rhinar held up the hypospray again. "He's more portable than you."

"No, wait!" McCoy this time. "Please! Just give the boy a tranquilizer! Do that, at least! You're not hiding from scans any longer!"

"I'm sorry, Doctor, but that may work against me later on."

Every person shouted collectively as they watched him stab Setik with another neural paralyzer. The boy immediately went unnaturally limp and Saavik's memory tortured her with images of carrying her son in his toddler years to bed, when he'd been all floppy limbs and head.

 _"They go boneless," McCoy had said watching her. "I swear Joanna used to turn into a puddle."_

That was before Setik turned six and became _too old to be carried, Mother and Father._ Except by his sehlat, according to his logic. Laying there now, he looked… like he badly needed carrying.

Shras forced even his antennae to be motionless. "Sarek."

A first: he rarely called anyone by name, especially an opponent. Csala and Trorv forced the same control over themselves, hard as it was.

Rhinar sounded calm. "I didn't hurt him. I merely extended the boy's sleep. We have no broken agreements on this, Sarek."

Setik's little form lay crumpled between the second and third stations. In a heartbreaking twist, his one arm lay flopped over the science visor.

Saavik pushed the memories away before they made her ineffectual. Kirk came to them and so did his younger self as the ambassadors went by. "He said portable and how he still might require hiding Setik from scans."

Kirk suggested what they all thought, "He's ready if we put him on the run?"

The young Spock noticed Rhinar watching us. "We discuss your using another paralyzer."

The man made a sweeping gesture with his hands. "Still didn't hurt him."

 _That may not be true_. Setik could start to suffer physical damage from a second shot. No one mentioned there might be a third… or more.

The second the turbolift doors closed behind the other three ambassadors, Sarek faced Rhinar with a significant movement. "Now I have the weight of the Federation behind me."

In her ear, Saavik heard a deep, French Caribbean voice. She chided herself for not acting sooner with the other woman on the channel. She wondered how many Vulcans would be able to think in this situation.

"Captain?"

Uhura gave Saavik a questioning look since she was still on the line and could overhear the Vulcan's conversation. She reached for her own earpiece to remove it, but Saavik gave her head the slightest shake. She started walking up to the communications station.

"Suppo, are you able to hear me?" she asked at a low volume. Uhura immediately understood and enhanced the carrier to reach Saavik's supply officer at a higher intensity than she used.

"Yes, ma'am." That voice shook – with anger. "Did I really just see that man wipe his hands with-"

Saavik selectively did not hear the rest. The image was burned in her brain already. "Yes. I need you to transmit the following to the _Enterprise_."

"Why?"

Not Suppo, Rhinar. Uhura's hands hovered in the air as her head swung sharply to the main viewscreen. Then they were everywhere on her board.

"Uhura?" Kirk asked.

Rhinar answered instead. "Yes, Lieutenant, I did cut into your communications. Don't tax yourself. You won't find the source in your board or even coming from my lair here in Auxiliary Control. It's why your diagnostics came back clear."

She gave a passing thought on all they had hidden from the communications channel – and what they had nearly said into it. Paranoia done well indeed. But Saavik needed to get the items on her list from Suppo.

No, if boiled down, she needed one thing that only Suppo owned. The rest could be estimated by the _Enterprise_ crew.

She spun back and her eyes swept the communication station. In perfect condition, of course; all surfaces and panels snugly in place. Except humans tended to forget an important detail as an everyday point: to live amongst them, Vulcans constantly held back on their strength. Saavik had lived with so many weaker races since Hellguard, she found she did it without thinking. When she had first lived with Sarek and Amanda, Subcommander T'Mes had noticed it and pulled her aside.

"You can release that control here."

Amanda even let her know that everything in the house was Vulcan standard (except for the lady herself, of course). Humans spoke of walking on eggshells, for a different reason. But being able to free herself was like going from living inside the eggshell and stepping out into the real, solid world.

Even that aspect of having Spock as a consort meant not holding back in touching and holding him for fear of hurting him. It also meant she experienced his full embrace instead of being held weakly at best. When she wanted to be held tight, she was held tight. That included moments such as when they comforted each other in her ready room when they saw the children captured. To hold and be held fully. It wasn't why they married each other, but the satisfaction in it was immense.

So all she had to do now was put a few fingertips around the lower corner of a panel near her and simply close her fingers together. The panel immediately bent into the air.

"Captain?" Suppo asked.

"I am here. Cancel that earlier order as we have a listener."

Uhura stared at her already for damaging her station; she watched open-mouthed as Saavik leaned down, held one of her uniform's seams around the bent corner and stepped back. The tearing cloth got everyone's attention.

"Suppo," she spun around so Rhinar could see as well as everyone else. More importantly, he saw she hadn't used her two hands to rip the cloth, which would have made him ask questions. She eyed where the small tear exposed part of her abdomen and hip. "I tore my uniform. Transmit the design and my measurements to your counterpart. If I have the opportunity, I will change."

Kirk recognized what she'd done and he risked a smile since Rhinar was behind him. He whispered to Uhura, "Put through my last order. Tell them to contact Wardrobe. They might need Medical to help with the ears. That last part can't be through the comm channels."

Saavik noticed the still bent panel corner and pushed it into place. Uhura gave her a look of thanks.

Sarek seized Rhinar's attention back. He cut off the repeated threat against Setik. "You again forget this important point. What you want most, the entire reason for all your plans, is for I to bring about Coridan's rejection. Harm Setik again or kill him and you will never see that vote. Reason with me and I will do whatever I can to help them. However."

Sarek's dark eyes went first to the younger version of Spock and then the older. They came to stand with him, answering the non-verbal summons. Saavik wanted to join them, but she wasn't family here.

Each of the Vulcan's next words were wielded like a _lirpa_. "But you. You have made a mistake. You have attacked my grandson, my family. _My child's child_. That will not be forgiven. Whatever happens with your people, we have a personal conflict now."

Uhura spoke to somebody about rerouting at the source. Saavik thought nothing about it until she heard, "Of course. Captain Saavik?" She turned around from where she had moved next to Kirk's chair. "I'm asking Bimo for help. It shouldn't be anything that will tell me about your technology."

She called into her own earpiece. "Permission granted for whatever she asks, Mr. Bimojigar. Pass that order to all department heads. If the _Enterprise_ requires something, give it to them."

"I thought so," Bimojigar replied. "I already began on what you asked for, Lieutenant Uhura." They disconnected her from the rest of the conversation.

Scotty called below that, "Captain."

He meant Kirk as well as her, and Saavik thought, _At last_. The two of them reached the engineering station in an instant.

Rhinar argued with Sarek, "My agenda is right in front of you: my people."

Scotty kept his back to the flight recorder and pinched together his thumb and forefinger to use as a pointer. "You best go here, Captain Saavik. Gangway two from deck seven. The main warp power energizers are there, so we have a number of access tubes and the like. Ye will take this path-" he drew it with his finger along the schematics. "-but then comes your trouble, in that nest of tunnels. As ye get close, the force fields might find ye first. You were right about the hatches. Take number seven off this tube to get at your first point. You'll have a mass of machinery and cables to crawl through, but if ye can do that, I'm certain there's an emitter below ye in tube eleven at this junction, faced away from ye as well. It might be enough to short circuit the grid. If not, you'll go here next." He drew out another path; step by step, he said, and looked like he regretted it. "You need to be careful, Captain. I wish ye'd let me send one of my own people."

"You would never send someone, Mr. Scott. You would go yourself." He had the good humor to admit it. "I will do the same. However, we first have our observer."

Kirk got the first spark since this all started. "Time to show him why flight recorders make lousy security monitors. Uhura, put our observer plan into action."

"Aye, Captain." She worked her board and told several people they were to act on their earlier orders.

The turbolift doors opened and three people spilled out. They spread to secondary stations. In a few seconds, the doors let out another four who went to the bridge officers.

Rhinar's eyes couldn't keep up with the moving bodies. "What are you doing? What are all those people for?"

Sarek merely replied, "I cannot answer when I do not know."

Kirk got that light of at last getting to engage the enemy. "Mr. Rhinar, I know you worked as a civil engineer and that gives you a strong insight into Starfleet, but it does leave gaps. I'm only saying it because crisis situations demand the crew be at their stations. That includes a station working as a liaison between the bridge and other places at the ship. It means secondary stations are also manned. It's why Mr. Scott is here to man Engineering. Babel is coming up and you've locked us from key systems. The new staff has information that has to be handled by department heads or entered in the proper station banks. You're seeing a crew doing its job."

Rhinar turned sharply to her. "What's really going on, Saavik?"

She lifted her eyebrows. "I had earlier asked Mr. Scott to aid my engineer to break your hold on the _Contact_. We attempt to use that same knowledge to break your command of Auxiliary Control. I am going to Engineering for that purpose."

 _All of which is true, although not necessarily at this point or in the strictest sense of the words._

Rhinar grinned. "I love the Vulcan inability to lie. Enjoy Engineering."

Scott headed into the turbolift with her right behind. She gave the barest, surreptitious glance to Uhura and received the barest nod. Everything was good.

Until she heard her husband say, "I am coming with you."

She spun in the door. "Remain here. You-" _are a civilian. I must take the risk, not you!_ And when her son was in such danger, she did not want to risk her husband. But she could not say that, so she said what was also close to her heart and _very_ much true, "—have your daughters to think of."

He blew by her. "They are utmost in my thoughts with their brother."

Since he wore that uniform, "It is an order."

He whirled to face her when he entered the lift. "Then you must court martial me. Until that time, I am with you, Captain."

Kirk had come up and he smiled at her look. "I know what you mean. It's all right. I figured he'd do this."

So did she. Which was why she signaled Christos to order her back; she would not take the security guard off of her father, not even with Spock leaving. Saavik was armed and she knew who else was waiting.

She took the few steps to her husband's side and turned to the door. A flash of green and blue along with Scott's red stood out in her peripheral vision. She caught Kirk's envy over having to remain behind instead of being the one to take direct action.

"We'll continue working on the shields," he whispered and stepped back.

She also caught Rhinar's eyes darting between she and Spock, realizing Setik's mother and father left to find a way to attack him as he sat over their boy's body.

"See you in Engineering," he said pointedly. It was the first time he directly admitted he watched them.

Saavik didn't know her youngest daughter had told Boma there was a reason they learned emotional controls. She didn't know her oldest daughter had feigned an ancient smile. Her own mouth certainly didn't quirk in the same movement.

But her eyes bore the same glint as T'Kel's and she didn't feign it.

 _Amanda was correct. You chose the wrong family._

The turbolift doors closed on her stare, so she missed how Rhinar swallowed.


	26. Chapter 26

Note: So we're back! Everyone wrote me so many wonderful messages, including private ones through here and my site, about what _Trek_ canon is and what you thought of me and _Babel_. I never expected that; thank you! Plus, Paramount not only made S/Saa through its latest book official Trek again - receiving mass critical and fan approval, but they highlighted it as part of their official 50th anniversary celebration. That's huge. But mostly, it was all of you. Thanks again!

* * *

USS _Enterprise_ , Turbolift

Scotty said once the doors closed, "Captain, you did lie." Which made everyone in the lift stare at her except for Spock.

"Arguable," she answered, "and, as you noted, we can make better use of the time."

 _I only have time for my son right now._

Her gaze swept over the remaining two lift occupants: the man in Spock's uniform and the woman in hers, hidden from Rhinar's view when the doors were open. Pointed tips had been added to their rounded ears, curved eyebrows were made into wings, and makeup shifted their base coloring from red warmness into green coolness. No one who saw their faces would ever think they were Spock and her, but for appearing at a distance with their backs to the flight recorders, they'd do.

Scotty immediately spoke after what she said. "We have a problem that I could nae show you with _him_ watching us. Ye can't take this turbolift to Deck 7. We got recorders outside main engineering that pick up the turbolift doors. So I'm pausing the lift by six. Ye're going to climb down."

Their body doubles handed them gloves and tricorders as well as giving Saavik a toolkit. They'd put a strap on it so she could secure it to her body. She also stashed inside the earpiece she had palmed.

"Take the first horizontal shaft and head aft. Ye'll see an emergency hatch by the hydro vent that'll drop ye on to Deck 7, away from the recorders and by Gangway 2. Ye know the path from there." He shook his head. "I still wish ye'd let me go in yer place."

Saavik spoke as she quickly checked the tricorder. "I will be careful with your ship, Mr. Scott."

The engineer flushed a little at getting caught over his real concern. Spock's body double handed over a phaser, and her husband's blue tunic immediately covered the weapons belt and even half the phaser. Its black grip blended in with his pants.

Unlike the women's uniform where the belt lay on top of the dress. Something about it made Saavik eye her stand-in.

No, not the belt itself, but how it lay on the tear she'd made. "Excuse me." She reached out and quickly recreated the rip on the other woman.

Who blurted, "What a shame!"

Saavik's head jerked up and her tunnel vision over Setik widened, allowing her to see the hungry look in the young woman's eyes as she smoothed the command dress and pulled down the sleeves where her fingers stroked the captain's stripes.

 _Of course._ Her concern for her son made her blind to the impact of something that didn't exist on the _Enterprise_ until today: a female captain.

But the woman didn't say anything more about it. "Sir," she said to Spock, "I'm Lieutenant Jennifer Lee and this is Ensign Robert Wright. We met your children and we just wish we could do more to help."

Scott slowed down the lift car.

Spock's voice held a deep note. "You make it possible for me to go after my son. That is of great help."

Scotty cranked the handle and the car stopped. Spock forced the doors open and began to climb out.

Lee rushed out her next words to Saavik. "Mr. Nachson… made a huge impression on us too."

Saavik quickly understood what that impression was on Lee. Spock leaped out of the car to the ladder. She moved into the doorway.

Lee finished, "I'm glad I got to meet you, even briefly, Captain. We've all been hoping for a chance."

Saavik watched Spock start to climb. She had a second before the rungs were clear for her. She leaned out into the shaft, still facing Lee. "Tell the others. I am not the first female captain. The one who is will receive her commission quite soon, so do not think it is unobtainable now." Spock's feet were at the same level with the car. Saavik reached for the ladder and grabbed a rung. "I served with her and we remain in close association." _Both from Hunter being T'Pren's Ko-mekh-r_ _á_ _and our friendship which led to that choice_. "You will be proud she represents you. She and all the others who come immediately after her. The message holds true for non-humans you may know as well."

She kicked off from the lift and started to climb as Scott's head popped out. "We'll keep the turboshafts clear, but I cannae hold them for long. This Rhinar would see an alert in Auxiliary Control."

Spock answered as he climbed further, to make room below him for her to be out of the way of the lift car. "It is much appreciated, Mr. Scott, or we would risk a higher level of danger."

"Aye, what else is new?"

They waited for the half-second before the turbolift started down again. Being lovers and, more than that, being well married, they knew each other's body movements and how to respond, even unconsciously. Their weight was denser since they were Vulcan, and he naturally weighed more than her. It meant Spock wordlessly pushed out to arm's length from the ladder as he moved his hands and feet from the rungs to the poles in order to slide, rather than climb, down. Saavik didn't need to think or ask about it; she closely hugged the ladder until her husband slid down around her, then moved her hands and feet to his.

Their combined weight and gravity dropped them like an anchor with the speed of a missile, their gloves and boots protecting them from the friction. Seeing the horizontal junction, they first slowed, then braked with their feet. Braked as in they swung from the ladder still at half the rapid speed into the new shaft. They each came out of a roll and broke into a full, flat-out run until they grabbed the emergency hatch and swiftly got it open.

That was when they stopped their headlong rush. They carefully raised the hatch and lowered themselves down to minimize noise. Spock went first; she didn't know if he did it deliberately, but it paid off. Crewmen traveled the corridor and he signaled to them to make no indication that something was happening. By the time she dropped into view, people were wide-eyed enough over an older Spock, but when they recognized her, _something_ would have slipped out to the flight recorders in the other corridor where their body doubles had already passed into Engineering.

They ran again, even with Gangway 2 being close by, in sync and unleashed. No mental controls blocked their bond to each other and no need to minimize their body language in fear of it being recognized for what it was. The personnel seeing them now saw them for a second or two at most, not enough to distinguish the husband and wife running by them.

They hurled themselves at the three-sided gangway ladder and slid separately this time; the tunnel space wouldn't allow them to double up again. Jaxon Tran and Olivia Trujillo waited for them right around the corner.

Saavik's Security Chief reported. "The body doubles are working. He has no idea that's not you in Engineering and that it's not us outside the brig."

And no flight recorders here: like Kirk said, it was not a security system. Less than half the ship had recorders, so it left large blind spots. They were in Auxiliary Control, for instance, but not in the corridors right outside it. The playback was also not a live feed; someone had to wait ten minutes to see in the recording what was happening now. The system was intended to document decisions and actions in critical areas: that was all.

For the first time since Rhinar started using it, Saavik, Spock, and her people could employ it to _their_ advantage.

Saavik pulled her husband aside. She not only lowered her voice, she spoke in their own language. "Remain here."

"No. He is _our_ son."

"Of which I am very well aware. However, you equally know these Jefferies Tubes do not allow us to work side by side and the machinery through which I must move may not allow for your size."

"Then that will become the moment I remain behind. What _you_ fail to remember, my wife, is my familiarity with this technology."

"A first-year cadet can take apart a force field emitter. Husband." He stopped at the term. "Stay here, be safe. Allow our children to have one parent if I am killed doing this. Monitor the force field, and aid Tran and Trujillo to retrieve Setik went it comes down. I may be confined by the access tubes and unable to move into Auxiliary Control quickly."

The last point made him hesitate, but he glanced at her very capable Security people. "We will discover a way to reach Setik and my being with you may keep us both alive."

She lost the argument and knew it. Son captured, daughters and mother barricaded in a ship's prison, and now husband rushing into the fight.

She'd recognized the odds of winning the argument had been low. She still had to try. She pulled off her tricorder and handed it to Trans. They went over his orders to ensure they had the same understanding of them.

Spock activated his tricorder and they bent over the scan results. A white mechanical component on a yellow panel marked the junction where they believed the first emitter was connected. They could just see the red handles inside the tube, but nothing else at this angle. If only they could cut into the wall and break Rhinar's grid at the emergency emitter node, but Scott's evaluation placed that connection inside the tubes at a junction.

They moved down the corridor and around the corner to the first access tunnel in their path. They dove into the Jefferies Tube after they swapped equipment; she went first with the tricorder and he followed with the toolkit. They climbed up what was laughingly called steps until the junction. The third tunnel they traveled marked the next important spot. Here they went off the tube system by opening a maintenance panel. The thrum from the nearby engines and the matter-antimatter reaction chamber dominated their sensitive hearing. Machinery and its cables were naturally tight, but not so much that they couldn't get in. Saavik had a slim space around her, but Spock nearly had to force himself into the space. She looked back but said nothing. If he brushed the components, he risked disrupting them and that would show in Auxiliary Control.

Or cause a reaction that reached the nearby engines and electrocuted them.

She saw him gauge it and nod for her to keep going. He was right behind. Now the journey became lifting components to the end of their cables to twist through or pack down an apparatus to give the vital sliver of more room. She _had_ done this once before when Spock was in a deadly standoff and had called for her.

 _Here._

They should have the right spot. The emitter would throw its field out into the space surrounding it. The majority of that was a corridor, but since it was never made to do what Rhinar used it for, it would likewise shoot the energy barrier up the diagonal tube. That was why they 'burrowed like some sort of beastie'; they would have been burned worse than Chen if they came down the tunnel from another.

Saavik laid at a slant, her head aimed at the floor outside the wall where she crawled. Spock tapped her abdomen and handed her a cutter tool, his arm having to press down on her body to fit in the space. The panel was locked with the access on the other side. Nobody imagined Starfleet officers doing what they were doing.

She heard him get something else out of the kit and looked down the length of her body to see him retrieve the earpiece. He reached in between a few components and rewired contacts. They sparked but activated. She started at the panel as he spoke to the bridge.

"Communication status."

Two major risks: first, if the laser inside the cutting tool hit the force field, they not only alerted Rhinar, but Setik, T'Kel, and T'Pren would be suddenly and brutally orphaned. Second, if Rhinar still cut into Communications, he would wonder why Spock talked but his body double made no such movement.

"Lieutenant Uhura here, sir. This channel is clear. I'm using the _Contact_ as a filter, so to speak. Rhinar is still on the old one. We're sending chatter through it so he doesn't know what we've done. My people are looking for the actual disruption he did to my systems."

They heard Kirk say, "Is that them?" His voice got louder and he came up to her. "Spock? Saavik?"

The panel's lock gave way and she handed the cutter down to her husband to put in the box. They had no room and sensitive equipment all around; they couldn't leave tools out.

"Captain," Spock responded, "I suggest you inform my double to go to a comm panel and use Rhinar's channel. You will have to speak to him on their lack of progress. Mr. Wright's voice will not substitute as mine for more than a word or two."

"We got that covered," Kirk replied. "The _Contact_ has given us a databank of reports and communications for you and Saavik. We put together simple statements from that. What's your progress?"

Spock told him where they had reached; Saavik now bent the panel carefully until it touched the power node. The small door went side to side, but if she opened it that way, in came the force field to hit the machinery like a match to an explosive. The tricorder acted as her eyes since the panel and junction cut her view. Kirk whispered and they couldn't hear him, but he said in a moment that he had summarized their report for Sarek's ears.

Suddenly they got their first piece of good luck. Saavik gestured for the earpiece. "Rhinar used jumpers to activate his power. I remove those and the emitter is disabled. Have we regained control of the shields?"

Otherwise, they still couldn't transport Rhinar and Setik out.

"No."

The matter-antimatter reaction chamber lay dangerously close and yet Saavik thought it was nothing next to what Kirk just said about Setik remaining in Rhinar's hands.

"Saavik, I talked with Imre. I know his plan to bring down the shields, but Rhinar would see that happening. He'd take it out on Setik until we stopped."

She had to tell her son's father what she just heard.

"Listen," Kirk went on, "your best bet is to take down that force field and get your people in immediately – I _know_." She must have made a sound. She didn't know she had. "Rhinar can see the force field come down."

"And take it out on Setik until we stop," she pressed.

"…I know. But _you_ know, it's better odds."

Saavik again told Spock what was happening and they shared a look. She said it aloud this time, at a volume no human listening could hear. "Adun, our son."

She had gone in first; it meant she was trapped by his being behind her. "Go. One of us must break this net. Switching places is near impossible and wastes time. _Go_."

They agreed she'd keep the earpiece. He would use a comm panel.

He found her hand for a quick, intense kiss and pushed out backward. She began preparing what she needed.

"I must speak with my Security Chief."

Uhura answered. "Captain Kirk has returned to his chair. Rhinar was suspicious at his remaining here. Your Mr. Tran reported he has a team at the other end of the corridor. Rhinar can't escape at either end."

I should have brought more teams.

"Lady Amanda and the twins? How has this affected their security?"

"Four officers still guard them in the brig."

That didn't add up. Saavik went over it and Tran's way of thinking. "He sent an additional guard for Ambassador Sarek?"

"Yes, ma'am. So if Rhinar realizes what's happening and drops the shields… two people are with him."

"Understood." It was a good idea, but they still contended with their enemy beaming Spock's father into space. The twins and Amanda were safe behind their force field.

"Lieutenant, have Ambassador Sarek's coordinates transmitted to the _Contact_. They are to use them in lieu of a transporter lock and watch for the shields to go down. If Rhinar attempts beaming him out, my ship is to break through and transport him to safety."

If only they knew Setik's.

"Can you do that?"

 _Can it really harm the future for her or even the others on the bridge to know_? "Yes, we can. If they are prepared and immediately move."

Spock, her Spock, came into the line to say they were ready. Saavik told him to hold while they waited to hear on Sarek's coordinates and rolled on her side. The jumpers would be easy to detach; she packed up the kit and looked back the way she came. She wanted to move fast once she could leave. She wanted to be with Spock when he breached Auxiliary Control.

She took the tricorder and wiggled it through the panel. And waited.

"Ambassador Sarek's coordinates are locked," Uhura reported.

Saavik jammed the tricorder on top of the power junction. She used it and the bent panel door as a shield to protect her hands where the force field slipped around gaps. Her gloves started to burn; no matter. She yanked at the red 30 and blue 5R3 jumpers and heard the satisfying sound of the emitter powering down.

" _Move!_ " came Tran's voice through the earpiece as a low, concentrated sound. Spock must have left the comm panel on for her to hear.

Saavik shoved off the wall at her head to push herself back to the hatch. She awkwardly went backward through it.

"Sarek!" Rhinar shouted. "Kirk! What's going on?!"

Uhura had left the channel open too.

She abandoned the toolkit at the top of the Jefferies Tube. It slowed her down, so it had to go. She tried sliding down the red rails and the sides of the steps, but it didn't work nearly as well as the turboshafts.

 _As long as it gained me even a second._

Saavik's boots hit the carpet in the hallway, she pivoted and ran in almost the same movement.

" _NO!_ " Tran shouted. It came out of the open doorway of Auxiliary Control.

Kirk inadvertently repeated Rhinar. "What's going on? Somebody, report!"

Saavik could hear Sarek and McCoy through the line, but her eyes and ears were for her husband whose body drooped.

"Spock?" She could say no other name like Husband. They were back to being chained away from each other with the people they had listening to them.

Spock came over and answered the bridge. He looked only at her. "Rhinar dropped our shields and transported Setik out."

They stared at each other with one common thought.

 _Into space._


	27. Chapter 27

USS _Enterprise_ , Auxiliary Control

Spock began counting to himself. He knew his wife did as well. _Wuhkuh, dahkuh, rehkuh_ …

Saavik asked the main bridge, "Can scans confirm if they beamed out to space?"

The _Contact_ would have reported if they had gone there.

 _Stehkuh, ohkuh…_

His younger self came back rapidly, "Negative. They are not in space. Repeat. Sensors report they did not transport into space."

Spock's count reached fifteen and his bond to his child was still there. It reinforced what his younger version said: if sensors had missed his son dying outside the ship, their bond would have begun to waiver by this point. Setik lived.

His other self spoke again. "Scans initially showed their lifesigns remain on the _Enterprise_."

 _Initially?_

"Location?" Saavik asked.

"The hangar deck."

She signaled to Tran. "We are going there now."

"No." Kirk's reply was quick and sharp. "It wouldn't do you any good."

Spock asked, "What has happened?"

"It's faster if you come up here and see for yourself."

"A moment." Saavik crossed to a station. Neither Spock nor Tran suggested that whatever she had found could wait. If it could wait, his wife would never waste time with it. She held up a mechanical contrivance that had nearly fallen out of sight. She didn't ask what was it; she said, "Spock."

He already had started for her. She handed the nearly unrecognizable device over.

"Communicators," she identified. "One of ours, one from here."

Kirk asked, "Why?"

"Unknown," Spock answered. He turned it around as she had. They needed tools to make out anything more. "We are bringing it with us."

Saavik said one last thing as they headed for the door. "Has Rhinar spoken to you?"

Sarek answered. "No. We theorize he is… merely inspecting his preparations as he did previously."

Or he cut off communications out of anger over their attack. In which case, where did that put Setik? Questions his father would have already asked himself.

The lift ride was made mostly in silence. Jaxon Tran had asked to come with them, wanting to see for himself what was going on instead of handed down reports. Saavik refused to lift the order for anyone to travel alone, so Olivia Trujillo stayed with them. The two humans turned their backs and kept their eyes away to offer what privacy they could for the couple. Spock touched his wife's fingertips with his in five separate, small comforting strokes. He sensed her use of the disciplines to get command of her fear that no one else could see.

 _Accept the emotion. Acknowledge it, recognize it for what it is. Do not fight it. Do not repress it or it will rise to consume you. Let it be and move past it_.

He did the same. They feared for their son. It was natural, but if it went unchecked, Setik lost.

They each took a calming breath and they were at the bridge.

The main viewscreen showed stars as the _Enterprise_ continued to Babel. McCoy laid in wait and jumped them as soon as the doors opened. "Spock," he said in way of asking.

He nodded: his bond with his son was intact. Still subdued, but also still there. The doctor wilted, coming down from the adrenaline caused by panic and worry.

Spock wasn't sure why, but his gaze found Sarek next. "Father."

He didn't know what else to say.

Sarek had appeared like the rest of the bridge: up against the final obstacle with no answers. But that one word, just the one, brought back his bearing or at least the facade of it. Simply reaching out with—

 _"Father!" a tiny Setik had said, learning it meant the same as "Mekino!" Or really "Me'ino" because of his odd habit of not using the k sound in the middle of words. He made the connection between this Terran word and this particular person. This one was, "Father!" His lips worked like he tasted it and decided it was a treat. Until he learned Mother was Me'ina who was Saavik and that had been that. But at the moment, Spock took center stage. "Father! Father! Father!" Setik had stood up and flung his arms out in celebration of, "FATHER!" and fell to the floor. His motor skills were never the best at that age, but he got over it. Spock picked him up and he nestled against "Father" and went to sleep. All well with his world._

Spock looked at Sarek and understood. The one word was enough.

"We are not done," his father reassured him – and most likely himself. "We still hold what he wants."

Kirk had turned his chair so he faced them as soon as they got off the lift. "And this ship specializes in not taking _it can't be done_ as an answer. Spock."

Not him; his counterpart. "We began locking on to Rhinar's and Setik's signals when he raised the shield around a shuttlecraft. We cannot beam them out."

Saavik had handed the joined communicators to Uhura, asking for her input. Now she looked around the bridge, noticeably wondering why they hadn't done the obvious. "What is its shield frequency? We will set our weapons for it." Her brow cleared. "He changed it."

"Yes," Kirk answered simply. His gaze went to the older Spock. "We have more."

Spock asked his younger self, "You said scans _initially_ showed."

The younger Vulcan sounded… somber. "We discovered what the canisters were for."

"Show them," Kirk ordered.

The main viewscreen went completely black and then something swirled, turning blackness to a dark gray, shadowed motion.

Tran asked, "He killed the power?"

"Yes, to the lighting," the younger Spock answered. "He did more as well."

"Show heat sensors," Kirk said.

The view grew worse: a wall of gray-black that ate the camera feed. Tran suddenly asked for thermal imaging, then night vision, visible image contrast, and finally FLIR sensors. Nothing. Everything they would use to move in that soup couldn't pierce what was around the shuttle.

The older Spock called for the list of Rhinar's requisitions: different metals, foil sealant, Block-IR material, fire extinguishers, communicators, and tricorders. All gathered by his scheduled time in an engineering lab.

"He reduced the metals into particles," Spock said aloud. "He loaded them in the canisters with the extinguisher material and spreads them as a fog."

"He most likely," his younger self said, "furthers the sensor blocking with the foil sealant and Block-IR material wrapped inside the shuttle to further hide their heat signatures."

Saavik asked Uhura, "Is he in communication with someone using that device? Or was it how he broke into the channel?"

 _Could we have startled him that he could not risk going after the device?_ It would explain why he left it behind.

But Uhura shook her head. She reached for a small tool that combined a light, a magnification view, and a pick. She had grabbed a portable toolkit from below her station. "I don't know, ma'am. If I said this does any kind of communication, it's a data signal. See." She brought up a carrier wavelength on one small screen above her. She touched the tip of the pick gently to a board. "Perhaps it's a trigger that activated the canisters? I'm not sure. Maybe I'm misunderstanding your technology."

"No," Tran suddenly said. "No, hold on." He walked up and bent his tall length down to lean carefully on an elbow. "You said trigger. So it does broadcast?"

"Yes." She drew it out, hesitant as she tried to figure what he was going for. The whole bridge was that way. "Maybe for another device like this. Certainly for no life form."

"Decent range? Intraship only or-?"

"It has the same range. That part of it is still a communicator."

He held out his hand. "May I take that?" No less confused, she put it in his hand and he gave her a beautiful smile. "Thank you. Captain."

He meant his captain and Spock watched as he stepped back to Saavik. "Ma'am, I know you've seen the same journal articles as me about this. And with Rhinar being a civil engineer, he'd have access to them too." He turned to address the bridge. "In our time—"

Kirk interrupted. "Wait. I hate to say it, but can my crew and I hear this?"

Spock's eyes grabbed his wife's. He didn't want to take any more time than necessary by leaving the bridge to discuss this.

Tran, however, already answered that concern. "Yes, you can, sir, or my captain would have shut me up a couple sentences ago. Besides, this is _speculation_ in our own time, it hasn't happened. Now, you can do site to site transport, but it's a big draw on power. Correct?"

Kirk nodded and in the one comment, Spock understood everything Tran had already seen.

"The thing is, sir," the Security Chief continued, "that also means Mr. Scott would see it and could shut it down. But in our time, site to site is nothing. We use it all the time. Now that part isn't speculation, but with your clearance and everything your crew is already going to keep a secret, I think you can act surprised when the technology arrives. It's not that far away anyway."

Kirk's mouth played with a smile to an outright grin. Then the older Spock saw he had a glimpse of what was coming. So did his younger self and his father. Saavik, of course, got it when he did, being familiar with the articles and the technology.

"The journal articles talk about creating a remote control trigger for transporters." Tran turned back to his captain. "Ma'am, I've been following this through every discussion and one of the biggest points the articles make is how much of what we need is already in _communicators_."

She grabbed the device from him. "One of his sabotages. He pre-programmed a transporter on the _Contact_ to beam he and Setik to the coordinates he'd enter on receipt of this signal."

The younger Spock finished it. "It was left behind, so they did not need to hold it to transport. The trigger used his and Setik's lifesigns, not the device itself."

She looked at him, the older Spock. "It answers another question. Why go to the trouble of bringing the _Contact_ here when simpler means existed? It was for our technology. What he could not find here, he had aboard the other ship."

He said, "Your refit came at a good time and gave the added benefit of my being on board." He looked over at Sarek. "And nearly you." His father's eyebrows went up. "But he would have used any ship that fit his schedule."

"So we have the answers to two questions." She held up Rhinar's creation. "Does any of it give us him?"

The main viewscreen had been put back to the swirling shadows made by the manufactured fog. Saavik's head swung to her husband and her face became alight.

She had it.

She ordered Tran to the hangar deck. "Clear the area of _Enterprise_ personnel. Also, contact our ship. Transport over whatever additional crew you need to secure all necessary areas for this. Expand acceptable personnel from only humans to include Vulcans. Will they give you enough staff?"

"Yes, ma'am."

"If a time comes when that changes, we will discuss the rest of the life forms in Security. Have your counterpart here give you the schematics for both the hangar and flights decks. Then ask Mr. Scott if there is _anything_ he would add to them if he was sending men in there. Do you both have communicators?" They nodded. She held her hand out. "Mr. Trujillo, I need yours. Have the ship send you another when the additional teams beam over. Go. We will be speaking shortly."

They acknowledged their orders and left. He had his communicator flipped open before he reached the turbolift. " _Contact_ , this is Tran."

Kirk propelled himself from his chair. "Saavik, what the hell is going on?"

"Rhinar made his mistake. The one we have been waiting for," she replied as if it answered everything. When it didn't, she explained further, snatching up a padd lying on his chair arm. "In his attempts to hurt us, he has hurt himself. He cannot see us, nor can he use the shuttlecraft's sensors."

That had an obvious rebuttal; he didn't make it because he knew Saavik had thought of it too. And yet, she was certain. _What is my wife thinking_?

Then, the fog around his mind cleared even if the one on the screen didn't. He understood every detail she'd use against Rhinar, every order she was about to make. They just needed to explain so the bridge crew would know how to support them and then get to the hangar deck.

It helped that Kirk got some of it already. "He'll immediately lower the blast shutters so he can see if he thinks you're out there."

Spock answered, "He will not be able to see well, any more than we can."

"The odds are even then."

That was what Spock had said to Saavik about the Mutara Nebula during the battle against Khan.

He had died in the Mutara Nebula.

He kept a solid eye on his wife.

Saavik finished writing rapidly on the padd and handed it to Kirk. "Better. He has changed the odds to our favor. Lieutenant Uhura, have Dr. Stewart report to the hangar deck."

Kirk quickly read what she wrote and his head shot up. He got hold of the reaction and calmly nodded. "I agree. Ambassador Sarek, may I speak with you?"

 _What is this_? Most likely what attack his father needed to make to keep Rhinar occupied while Tran's teams did their work. Sarek read what Kirk pointed out to him; he nodded after his initial response like the captain had.

Sulu brought up the rebuttal the older Spock had thought of moments ago. "Ma'am, Rhinar will still detect movement in the fog when someone comes through. Even if it was just you or your Security Chief. It'll swirl around you, you'll stand out."

Saavik gazed back calmly, but Spock caught the spark underscoring it. "Then we will minimize it."

She pulled her communicator and moved in a straight line to the turbolift. He started after her.

Kirk suddenly stood there in his path. "I need you here, Mr. Spock."

He never expected this. "No, Captain, you do not."

Saavik locked her gaze with his, an apology bright in it, and spoke into her communicator as the turbolift doors closed between them. She never took her eyes from him. " _Contact_ , I have new orders for you."

His son still in the enemy's hands, his daughters and mother fortified in a jail cell, and now his wife running into more danger while he was forced to stay behind.

No. He would not allow it.

"You stand between me and my son," he warned Kirk. "That is not allowed."

 _You stand between me and my wife as well. That is not allowed either._

The captain looked over to McCoy. "Bones."

"Jim, c'mon. I'm on his bad side already." Kirk didn't even grace that with another look. McCoy sighed and looked supremely uncomfortable. "Hell, we might as well throw two tribbles at a Gorn. Sorry, Spock."

Kirk's jaw clenched. "What we stand between is you and your abandoning your duty to your son."

He took a step closer. "Be careful of what you say."

"Spock," Kirk insisted, "You're the only person who knows us all well. I need that. So does she. You know what Rhinar could have put together from the present and the future. _And_ you're the only one who could go down there… if Saavik's plans… need us to act after all."

 _If my wife and her people are killed_.

Something illogical made him push. "And you believe you and Dr. McCoy can stop me if I insist?"

Kirk balanced his stance. "I have backup."

Spock swung his head sharply. His younger self and his father waited behind him.

This was what Saavik had written on the padd. The younger Spock came to him and held out the tablet. "It is a good reminder."

 _You must hold the Spock of my time here. His wife risks losing too much already without also losing her husband, and the children their father. He is unnecessary for the first line of the offense. He will, however, be of more help to you with what he knows than below with us._

Chekov and Sulu were out of their chairs, ready to support their captain. He glared at them all.

Kirk stood up to that. "Spock, she's right. Contact your wife and let her know what's going on. Maybe even speak to the girls. Then, help us go after Rhinar."

 _Contact my wife._

He had plenty to say to his wife.

He got a sudden flash of seeing himself standing with the padd, shoulders down. _For the first time, I understand him. His refusal to allow even logic to stand between him and his son._

Whose thoughts were those?! Not his even though they played in his head.

 _Ever since T'Kel came to the bridge, telling me she and Setik had been attacked, I… have understood. As… admirable as Captain Saavik is, it is difficult to put Setik's fate in another's hands._

Spock spun on his younger self; his _katra_ felt like it dropped into freefall. "I have your memories."

The younger Vulcan understood. "We fail."

 _No_.

Sarek spoke up with that firm voice that made Vulcan's storms break apart before a greater force. "It is a temporary snapshot of the present and future. We will simply correct it to what it was. At worst, we will save Setik, but you cannot return home as Rhinar threatened. That is all the memories mean. If that comes to pass, we will help you take your family somewhere safe, to a new home until you can recapture the one you left. You will be well and together, _all_ of you. Nothing could be more the opposite of failing as that."

Spock released a calming breath. "Thank you, Father." He meant it.

He needed to remember that his wife was the greatest survivor that he had ever known. And she would do anything to get their son back.

He squeezed his eyes shut.

 _Including dying._


	28. Chapter 28

(Note: Imre recovering from surgeries and playing starship in the chapter, and T'Kel doing the same with the family rocking chair in an earlier chapter, are a tribute to Gene Roddenberry. I heard a recorded interview where Gene talked about how he was ill for awhile as a kid and couldn't run around with other kids. He put a chair in the family backyard and dreamed of a man who sat on the bridge of a starship and had great adventures. Of course, little did Gene know - or us - but _Star Trek_ was born.)

USS _Enterprise_ , Hangar Deck (Shuttle Storage)

Imre checked the gas mask Stewart just gave him. He, Ssaalz, and Bimojigar had vetoed the idea of wearing full environmental suits because they were bulky, and none of them could see a reason for them.

Holding the gas mask, he got the idea he would find out.

Saavik came up for a final briefing and Tran with her. She wore a phaser rifle as well now, slung to her back. She kindly remembered his discomfort with her height and new dress length and crouched down.

"Commander," she said. "you understand the plan."

"Of course. I'm going to be a Sozon," he said grandly.

Rhinar had inadvertently created Bimojigar's native environment and thrown himself and Setik into the middle of it. Eyes meant nothing now; they needed the blind. With her whiskers and the sensitive hairs covering her body, plus her acute hearing and sense of smell, she stood ready to dash into the hangar deck turned burrow. The only thing missing was her eusocial colony which was how she would get Imre and Ssaalz through: by treating them as Sozons.

"Has Bimojigar gone over the body language with you?"

"In a crash course. It's tougher for Ssaalz since she'll be running on the side. She said she plans on keeping her tail on us. We'll be good. Bimo will never lose either of us and moving together cuts down on me leaving a trail of my own."

Saavik agreed. "From there?"

Imre repeated his orders. "She takes me to the shuttlecraft and I go to the aft service compartment." He tapped the tricorder secured to his body. "I get the new shield frequency, transmit it to you, and you have it to beam out Rhinar and Setik once we can get sensor locks." No one mentioned they'd also be able to fire on the shuttle. "We then scout the area and get information to make any necessary next attack. I'd love it if we can move in while you pump out this fog so sensors can get those locks."

Saavik corrected only one point "We must triage Setik before transporting him. I do not want the neural paralyzers to have harmed him and make beaming him out dangerous." How that thought must be killing her. "If we're fortunate, he will transport out immediately afterward. Now, we have new information you need to know."

That didn't sound good.

"Mr. Scott's people cannot account for one of Rhinar's force field emitters. He could have it around the outside or on the inside protecting him."

"If it's around the outside," Imre said, "our plan is thrown out."

But Saavik disagreed. "If that positioning becomes true, Bimojigar will locate the emitter and you stand better odds of deactivating it before Rhinar can react. If it covers the interior, that is the greater danger."

"Captain," Imre suggested, "why don't I cut the power while I'm there at the compartment?"

"It is a feature unavailable in this shuttle class. At least, not as a standard. If you discover a way, it announces the attack and how close it is." Putting Setik in worse danger as a hostage. "However, we may not have a choice. I leave it to your discretion. I will be in direct contact with you," she tapped the mask, "but you are in command. It is your team."

He knew she entrusted him with her son's life. He moved the ideas of the aft service area and the force field around in his head. "Yes, ma'am."

Saavik glanced up to her Security Chief. "The briefing for the shuttlecraft."

Imre started with, "Class F, right?"

Tran replied, "Yes, sir. So, it has no phasers and not a full ship's shield."

"Enough of one," the first officer said in an equally deep voice. He thought of how they couldn't beam Setik out even if the sensors could penetrate this soup.

"Yes," Saavik interceded, "but enough difference that we can defeat it quickly once we have the frequency. Also, you obviously can penetrate it including any equipment you carry."

"That part sounds good. It's still a Starfleet shuttlecraft, though. It must give him some weapons."

Tran answered, "Yes, sir. It has a weapons drawer with six Type 2 phasers already armed, plus four Type 1 phasers and four extra battery packs. But. That's if he knows you're coming. He doesn't. Ambassador Sarek's got his attention locked up and Bimo's getting you there under his sensors. Almost literally. You're armed too."

But if he does figure it out, it's not me. It's him using one of those phasers on Setik.

He bet Saavik thought of that too. So had Tran.

The Security Chief went on, "I've got this area covered, sir. Down here, up on the flight deck, even on the observation deck."

Yes, he did. Imre had gone into full battle with the number of people they had hustling into positions in the corridor here and above.

Tran watched them too. "Say the word and, fog be damned, we're there. That shuttlecraft is a big target and we'll aim high at the forward windows and hatch. He'll give his position away anyway and we'll also activate the shuttle turntable. That will give us light and draw out this fog. No matter what, you, Bimo, and Ssaalz will get out easily."

Imre's eyes came up to Tran's and he spoke one commander to another. "If we get so lucky that Rhinar makes another mistake like this, we're going in, Tran, not out. I've got a Carreon armed with talons on every extremity, and a Sozon who not only doesn't need to see to take out her opponent, but she has a Roman gladius for each incisor. I'll be closer to the shuttle than you too. We will head for the hatch under the fog. So, please do, keep your shots high until you can see me."

Tran flashed his teeth in a big grin of approval and esteem. "Yes, sir. We'll be right behind you."

"You better be fast or the captain will run you over."

The large grin got bigger as the Australian looked down into Saavik's upturned face. "Right on your heels then."

Imre nodded as he put a mental image of everything together with the hastily memorized blueprints and vids of the _Enterprise_ 's shuttlebay. "As soon as Bimo knows which shuttle he's on, we'll obviously send coordinates. That'll help with targeting."

Saavik said, "She already has."

She indicated with her head where Bimojigar lay flat on the floor, her nose and hands at the sliver of space as her head swiveled where they'd opened the door a minuscule amount. Anything more would let out the light they used right now.

One of Tran's men knelt next to her holding a minican; he pulled the flexible filter tip from under the door and was on his feet, running for the lift and the bridge as he sealed the air sample for Spock. Another Security guard ran with him; people still didn't travel alone.

Saavik suddenly grabbed her earpiece. "Yes, I see what you have done. You have been quite… thorough."

Imre started to say something, but she signaled he should wait. Then she nodded.

"What was that?" he exclaimed.

"My pretense of being on the bridge. I acknowledged to Rhinar what he has accomplished here."

"He's not using visual –? Of course, he opened the blast shutters so he can watch the deck." _Video would let out light and give his position. He doesn't know we already have it._

"Correct. Bimojigar easily found his location. His canisters create a current as they spray their contents. They also have a concentrated smell and a sound. None of these are apparent to us. Her senses, however, are the difference."

"Impressive," Imre said.

"Yes, because she has also heard him moving inside the shuttlecraft and speaking with Sarek. While you work at the outside engineering access to find the shield frequency, she will provide reconnaissance on the shuttlecraft and surrounding area."

"Captain, I want to hear that channel. What Rhinar says and does affects us."

She agreed and worked it out with Uhura: he would hear Rhinar's channel and the second one between her and the bridge. He didn't need to speak on them. A third, however, was restricted to her and his team.

Ssaalz crouched almost as low as Bimojigar and she leaned forward in her stance. She wore a belt with multiple compartments over her blue Medical uniform dress. Stewart wanted to go with them, but despite being shorter than Saavik, the Carreon medical officer was all around smaller. Her black skin was a bonus too, the dark making even her bright green stripes invisible, and added to all of that was her greater strength. Both she and the Sozon were also armed.

Imre got the feeling that Ssaalz and Bimo mentally left five minutes ago.

Saavik indicated Frances should give her briefing now. "Imre," the doctor began, "I'm okay for the most part with you turning down the environmental suits, but wear those masks. Rhinar didn't just spray this concoction as airborne materials, it's a constant, concentrated mist. It will coat your skin and eventually burn it. Fortunately, your uniform covers most of you."

He looked down at his Command gold tunic that he had been wearing since Saavik contacted the _Enterprise_ saying she couldn't beam over. The other two members of his team, though, were uncovered from the waist down in the uniform dresses.

"The mask will protect your face," Stewart continued, "and you can put on gloves. You'd have to be exposed for a long time anyway before it became a problem, but breathing? I don't want this in anyone's lungs. Not to mention, Ssaalz has no eyelids and I want her eyes protected. But the big problem is Bimo."

He immediately swung his head to the Sozon. "Why?"

"She is literally thinned skin, so it's more susceptible to damage. She's also impervious to pain, so she won't know she's getting hurt. You and Ssaalz will have to be her pain receptors for her."

"How do we do that in the dark? I can only play Sozon so much."

Stewart pointed with her chin to the tricorder belted tight to his ribs. "You're going to be using that, right? Put an alert on it. In fact, I'll set it for you."

He stopped the hand reaching out. "No, I can't risk it going off and Rhinar sees it. I'll scan her when it's safe, don't worry. And knows her job."

Frances glanced over to the Carreon. "Right. I have only one more thing. I've got a gurney and a full triage kit standing by. I can be there in seconds once you get to Setik. _If_ he needs it."

That was more for Saavik's benefit and she nodded in response.

Stewart asked her, "I'd like a word with the commander before they go."

Saavik agreed and took Tran with her.

"Risteárd," Frances started and Imre caught the tone. "Have you ever been in a situation like this before? In total darkness for so long? Let alone Bimo becoming claustrophobic."

He remembered her file: her field had been psychiatry. Still was. "Something similar. I was in complete blackness, but no, not for long. And certainly nothing like a Sozon."

"Your mind can work against you, so can your instincts. It's not easy going blind or to have Bimo on top of you. Find a way to stay grounded. Sound, touch - Ssaalz is with you and going through the same thing. Let your responsibility to her keep you settled or at least share it. And keep this in mind. Remember when Bimo almost left Starfleet?"

Surprised at the switch, he said he did.

"But you don't know why, right? Her queen thought she had been replaced as monarch in Bimo's mind because she served with Saavik. The captain isn't only female – that's easily set aside as a secondary like Bimo herself – but she has a mate and children and _that_ right belongs only to a queen. So Bimo gets recall orders for her to return home permanently, and Saavik insists she'll go too so she can explain."

The Vulcan in question was talking with Ssaalz. Imre always suspected some connection was there – the name spelling couldn't be a coincidence – but if it existed, they kept it to themselves.

"Saavik sat tucked up in a ball, Imre," Frances finished, "in the colony's main chamber with her knees and chin against her chest because it was the only way she fit. She stayed that way in the pitch dark, hundreds of meters underground, and other Sozon crawling all around and over her. The discussion lasted for hours."

He wanted to say, _Good god, she did that?!_ But it seemed insulting somehow: to Bimojigar and to Saavik's respect for their ways. "You're saying I need to keep things in perspective if it starts to get to me."

"No, I'm saying suck it up, soldier, and bring Setik back." She smiled at him, a wicked gleam mixed in with her concern.

He deliberately didn't smile in return and turned to walk to his team. "I am so having you transferred when we get back."

The smirk got bigger. "Can't. I saved Saavik's life and Spock's indirectly. Ambassador Sarek himself takes my side. I am dictator for life, just accept it."

Saavik now sat on the floor next to Bimo; the captain reached out and laid a hand on that wrinkled, blind head, a huge gesture for a Vulcan. Bimo had a tail, but skinny and with little muscle control unlike Ssaalz's; in spite of that, she managed to wrap it around her captain's boots.

He bobbed his head in their direction. "Probably talking about that same trip to see the queen."

Frances watched them and her eyes welled up. "Guess again."

They got close enough that he could hear Saavik's, "It is fine, Mr. Bimojigar. You may say it. Mr. Nachson would be warmer in body temperature than me."

Imre swallowed. "She's keeping Bimo warm because that's what Kyle would do. He always had a soft spot for her."

Stewart's voice rasped, "And the captain knows it."

They got up to everyone else and Saavik gave him an expectant look. He wanted to say something to her, something heroic and reassuring, but he wasn't sure what it was. He had to settle for, "Ready, ma'am."

The familiar itch of heading into a situation and knowing what he had prepared could go to hell in a nanosecond started in his fingertips and settled in his belly. The old fashioned fight-or-flight response doing its job.

Action would help.

Two Vulcans, both male, one with the typical ectomorphic build and the other barrel-chested, made up the team at the door along with Olivia Trujillo and Aban Suhayl-Wajih. They took the door off automatics for manual control. Tran sent one of the Vulcans to the station where they controlled the lights too.

Imre touched Ssaalz and Bimojigar each on a shoulder. For the Carreon, it was a friendly, supportive commander's gesture that things were good. For the Sozon, it was a partner to partner thing. "Well then, Mr. Bimojigar. You live in my environment every day. I think it's time I live in yours for a while."

He told them both to put on their gas masks and did the same. Finally, he dropped to his hands and knees and crouched down further than that.

That imperceptible muscle and mind connection snapped into place. The one that said _Now_. He signaled Tran.

The big Australian nodded and swept his people. "Remember, no light or sound from my mark. Ready?" He held his hand up as a further sign and then chopped the air at the same time he called, " _Mark_."

Imre looked at Saavik one more time and that steady answering gaze was the last thing he saw before the blackness.

 _How much does she wish she was in my place?_ How much did Spock? Imre couldn't imagine what they were going through.

He didn't hear Tran or the Vulcan officer move on the door, but he pictured them lifting it with their hands to just the level of he, Bimo, and Ssaalz on all fours. He knew it was open when Rhinar's fog crept around his mask and licked his neck. Any further height would change the fog's currents which their enemy might notice.

He scurried under the door and felt it graze his back. He needed to be lower, so he tried to go to the point where his chest brushed the ground. He felt the door close behind them and instantaneously lived the expression, _I can't see my hand in front of my face_. Normally, sighted people walked into a dark room and waited until they could make out something from the light they weren't conscious of: the moon or a light outside or a device with a lighted face. He would never be able to make out something here.

He had been in something like it once before, like he'd told Stewart; the same feeling of nonexistence came over him then too. Like he no longer existed physically, that his body and the world around him had gone because he couldn't see them.

It coupled with the only thing that existed: sound. A 'healthy' starship always made sounds. Even with its complement of shuttlecrafts and the stations shut down, the hangar deck made low pulsing noises from systems in its walls, while the fog writhed against his skin. It was like the _Enterprise_ had swallowed them whole and they had landed in her belly.

Ridiculous feelings, but his brain's neurons weren't working on intelligence.

Imre's breath in the mask, however, stayed a steady rate, true to his training and experience. A Starfleet officer of his years didn't freak out in the dark.

A sudden whisper in his ear almost made a liar out of that. "Are you lecturing me on right and wrong, Sarek?"

Rhinar.

Imre slowly let out his breath. It was just the verbal battle the Vulcan ambassador waged against the man threatening his grandson and Coridan. Actually, _both_ Vulcan ambassadors because the older Spock, _Ambassador_ Spock, fought alongside his father, but no one in the _Enterprise_ crew knew that. It put the outside world back into place in the clinging, muted blackness.

Sarek said, "Genuine tragedies in the world are not conflicts between right and wrong. They are conflicts between two rights."

"Is that yours or another Vulcan who said that?"

"Neither. It was an Irish philosopher named Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel. I thought you may prefer someone of your species."

Imre grinned.

Next part of the plan.

Bimo scuttled over, completely silent. He simply registered her body heat which felt wonderful in the mist. _No wonder she huddles next to people. I underestimated how she must be freezing on her own._

Imre felt the Sozon slide over him, so they'd crawl together. Bimo had explained it was the best way for her to get him to the shuttlecraft around the maze of other shuttles, containers, and barrels stacked around the deck. He would have slammed into plenty without her. And as he told Saavik, they cut down on trails through the fog for Rhinar to see: one instead of two.

Now Imre understood her fear of losing Ssaalz. But if they did, the Carreon could always sit tight while Bimo got him to the outside engineering panel. Then she could go back for the medical officer while he worked.

He did suddenly feel the tip of Ssaalz' tail work its way between his and Bimo's arms, and then she pressed against them. One unit now. _The blind leading the blinded._ He gave the order: "Mr. Bimojigar, lead us into the Briar Patch."

 _We're coming, Setik._

They leaped forward together. Thankfully, Rhinar kept pumping out the fog; it meant it swirled on its own. If it had been still, they'd be noticeable no matter what, in the same way the bridge's main viewscreen managed to pick up swirling in the dark. Now, with their smaller footprint, they blended in with the natural movement of the mist.

Rhinar still talked, "None from home, Sarek? I know your people have a number of quotes on right and wrong, and waging war on one's enemies, in a spectacular quantity of ways."

Saavik replied to him instead. "May I wake to see a day with the sands unstained and my people with empty hands. That day will mark us finding peace."

"Ah! It wouldn't be Vulcan without a lecture on peace and control. Who said that particular jewel? Must be Surak."

"No." Sarek's tone sliced the man's arrogance down to a blink. "She quotes my great-grandfather, Aevrauk."

"He is worth quoting, Ambassador."

 _He is so good_ , Imre thought about Sarek. _And the captain so fits Spock, let alone his family_.

"We're in, Captain," he reported.

It was a bizarre situation. Dangerous and flat out bizarre. In holovids, heroes crawled through duct work with torchlights and grates to see by. Here: _Join Starfleet. Meet new life forms. Crawl under your communications officer_. Imre had a sadistic drill instructor in the Academy who would love this. He'd be stacking trainees five high, going through San Francisco's fog in the dead of night with packs of extra weight, and firing live ammo only a foot off the ground. Bellowing, "You wanted a life of adventure, Cadets!"

Bimo had said they were in a Sozon sweeper's position like they followed a digger. Because she missed Nachson so much already and Saavik hadn't been there, she had said mournfully how Kyle would have joked about getting a new job skill for his record.

Nachson again.

Imre couldn't help it; Kyle's death was too new. He automatically thought of the man, then the pain hit, but the thoughts flowed anyway.

Nachson would have been one self-contained attack as he hovered around the captain. He would have waited for Saavik's briefing to be done, then he'd have jabbed a finger into Imre's chest, his tight upper lip pulling back from his teeth. "I always said I'd be your longer legs if you need them. Now you got to be my shorter ones. I took an oath as an officer and I made a declaration and I failed _both_ , Imre! So, you go be everything you are and fix this!"

 _I will_ , Imre promised the air.

He focused on moving. Bimo was perfectly comfortable racing along on all fours, and she could go backward just as fast. Ssaalz' people had evolved away from it, like Imre's, but she was still more comfortable with it than him because she didn't have to resort to hands and knees like a human. He worried he slowed them down when Bimo reminded him that she couldn't go at top speed because it would swirl the fog too much into a trail of their movements.

Still, she moved quickly.

Saavik's voice came through the captain-to-captain channel. "Bridge, status report. We have a team inside the hangar deck. Additional Security teams have been added to the surrounding area."

Bimo's weight pushed down on his left shoulder, so they made a smooth, hard turn in that direction. Ssaalz never lost them since she kept so tightly to them.

"You have a team _inside_?" Kirk said in disbelief. Imre pictured them looking at the darkness and fog on the main viewscreen. "Your people are good. We didn't see them go in and nothing registers anywhere on the deck."

 _Excellent_. Imre thought of patting Bimo and Ssaalz as a silent compliment, but decided later was better.

"We have another accomplishment," Saavik agreed. "Rhinar has been identified on the _Copernicus_."

He imagined Kirk ordering a diagram of the hangar deck layout be put on screen. It was what he'd do.

"Captain Saavik." Imre talked very low into the mask's built-in communicator. Bimo, Ssaalz, and Saavik all had excellent hearing, and his captain would be able to filter out his report amidst the other two channels' chatter. "We are passing the _Galileo_. Our progress remains steady."

The mechanism of the turntable's rim bit into his right hand and knee. It was actually a good thing; it confirmed to his own senses that they were on track.

Saavik acknowledged and passed the report up to the bridge. To her Spock really.

The same Spock – Imre thought it had to be the older one because of what he asked. "Who constitutes your team?"

The names would mean nothing to anyone else. "Commander Imre, Lieutenant Bimojigar, and Dr. Ssaalz."

"They got a doctor in there." McCoy. He sounded like one of his hundred billion overwrought nerves calmed down at the thought. "Good, that's good."

Spock said, "As can be said for the entire team. All excellent skill sets and well suited for the task. As my younger self recently told Mr. Scott, 'Intelligence does not necessarily require bulk.'"

That came not just from Starfleet legend Spock, but the abducted boy's father. _Thank you, sir_.

Kirk said in an aside that he hoped he understood that later. Unfortunately, he probably wouldn't, although he most likely guessed part of it already. So would the younger Spock since he had made that statement to the engineer. But Imre and his team were branded with time's warning label of being Off Limits. _Damn shame. Imagine if I got a tour of this_ Enterprise _from Captain James T. Kirk_.

He would keep to himself that he had a model of the ship when he was a boy and flew it around his room, devising adventures where he somehow was part of this crew. Then, one summer when he was a little older and required a series of surgeries making him unable to move around much, he heard Sarek speak and learned the power of mind, will, and _words_. It taught him a lot and his dreams of adventure as he sat at his family's house, confined, expanded to how much a captain can do from his all-important chair.

These thoughts combated the darkness beginning to play with his head. His human instincts and social morays rejected the whole situation as Stewart warned. The muscles in his back, legs, and arms stayed in a state of constant recoil where Bimojigar touched him. Something primal yelled he needed to break away, shake her off, restore dominancy, and find a damned light!

But that was not going to win. Bimo kept him alive in here; Bimo meant getting Saavik's son back to his mother and father. Imre sacrificed a step to touch Ssaalz on the arm, the cooler pebbled skin slick from the mist, and grounded her in case her own mind started being eaten by the dark.

Bimojigar suddenly pushed all her muscles against his back, arms, and legs. That meant _drop!_ Imre tugged at Ssaalz as he flattened to the floor.

 _What the hell?_

Bimo covered his ears, the sign for _dangerous noise._ He wished fiercely he could hear what she did because he couldn't make out anything but the ship.

That was it.

"Captain," Imre said as low as he could, "can you confirm Rhinar's stopped talking?" _And might be looking right at us_?

Saavik didn't have to do it; Sarek already noticed. "Mr. Rhinar, you have said nothing for 6.8 seconds. In our current situation, I question the reason why."

Nothing.

"Confirm," Imre asked. "We're certain he's blinded himself too with this vapor?"

Nothing except… faint noise like… a bridge station.

Spock, one of them, answered him. "To our knowledge, yes."

 _Meaning that's what we hope._

He slowly drew his phaser and felt Ssaalz and Bimo do the same.

 _We're so close!_

"Well, well." Rhinar, at last. "Talking about me behind my back, I see."

No one understood and Sarek said so.

"No? Maybe if I stopped talking to you here—" Just a pause. "—and talk to you _here_."

It sounded no different, so Imre didn't understand until Uhura said, her voice in a tight, professional tone, "He is now using the second channel."

Imre let out his breath quietly. "Captain, are we clear?"

If Rhinar found his team's channel to Saavik, that was a big loss but they could go forward. It'd only hurt if things changed or extended from the plan.

"We're clear," she confirmed. "Our source is managed by the _Contact_. However, we have lost private communications with the bridge. Continue, Commander. I will resolve that issue."

But Bimo shoved him down when he tried to rise. "Explain," he said firmly.

"Imre?" Saavik asked.

It was still his team. "Hold, Captain. Bimo?"

The Sozon whispered, "Rhinar moves inside the shuttle. He has since discovering the other comm channel." Imre reminded himself she could hear the man's voice, which was how she knew what was going on. "I want to make sure he settles rather than making a move that risks us or Setik."

"Good call," he agreed. In a few more seconds, she gave the all clear, Rhinar having sat down at the shuttle's controls. That put him at the windows too. Imre automatically tried getting even lower as he moved and slowed their speed.

"We're going forward, Captain."

As they crossed the last part of the deck to the _Copernicus_ , Saavik let him know she had sent two communicators to the bridge so they could hear and talk with the team without it going through any _Enterprise_ 's communication's equipment.

Kirk and Uhura were on the full-blown warpath over all the ship's communications being comprised.

Bimo gave him the sign to stop and lifted his right hand to touch something right ahead of him: the _Copernicus_ ' forward landing gear. That meant the slope of the shuttlecraft's nose was right over him.

So was Rhinar.

Something else: the bare bits of light coming from the shuttle's controls didn't brighten the dark. They were more like faded spots before the eyes – and they faintly caught movement.

"Captain Saavik," he reported, "we're here. Moving aft."

He imagined he heard everyone on the bridge take a breath and hold it.

Bimojigar slid off him - they couldn't fit under the shuttlecraft doubled up - and took the lead. He and Ssaalz belly crawled behind her, now on much more familiar ground. Every Starfleet cadet did more than their share of it through a slew of conditions they never dreamed existed. He kept his right foot lightly on the nacelle to give him another sense of direction. It got to be that his left elbow touched Ssaalz' right and they moved in unison. They didn't crawl as fast as they did on all fours, but they did well. The _Copernicus_ over them and their smaller size still kept down their movement in the fog.

But.

A belly crawl meant they dragged their bodies and that made sounds: the rubbing of their boots at the toe, the tapping of the tricorder when jiggled… Fortunately, these style belts were quiet: soft closures, and underneath the shirt for him. But the rest – it meant a low noise level they didn't have before. It was why they didn't do it earlier.

The older Spock, again Imre guessed by what he said, came over the line. "I know the _Contact_ locked down torpedoes as well as further securing the tactical systems. Has that plan been extended here?"

Scotty responded, "He shows no signs of being anywhere near them."

 _They must have called him to the bridge._ Imre and his team reached the shuttlecraft's aft section. He kept it to himself just how _good_ it felt to stand up. Ssaalz stretched next to him and her tail rattled quietly in the air. Bimo took his hands and ran them around the panel he needed. He kept one hand there and reached for his tricorder.

Saavik was answering the engineer, "A valid point, Mr. Scott. No reports show him doing so on the _Contact_ either. A report, however, may not show his changing programming in the weapons systems or the removal of the matter/antimatter core from a photon torpedo. If Rhinar does not obtain his mission's goal in his current manner, he will substitute it for another way. We tried preventing it through those measures. Your captain and I spoke of it."

Kirk snapped his next statement; Imre automatically tensed at his captain being yelled at, but he realized that wasn't it. "I discussed it when we thought Rhinar was on your ship. We didn't extend it to here. His next step could be to blow up the _Enterprise_ , not the _Contact_. It will take months, maybe a year, before the Federation Council can organize another vote on Coridan. Spock! Start scans and Scotty, I want Security going over the ship inch by inch! Check weapons systems including all armory lockers and see if he's gotten into Torpedo Control!"

Saavik insisted, "Captain Kirk—"

Kirk interrupted firmly, "If he blows up the _Enterprise_ , we won't have to worry about if we disturbed something in the timeline by looking for it. Scotty, Spock, go!"

He meant the younger Spock who confirmed. Saavik immediately ordered Tran to spare men to help and protect the search teams.

Imre, meanwhile, curled his body around the tricorder before he switched it on. The light hit his eyes like he put his face inside a nova. He squeezed them shut and saw burned images on his eyelids. When they passed, he slowly opened his eyes; it took a lot of blinking before he could look.

 _You wanted light._

Blinking. Blinking took eyelids. He swung to check on Ssaalz; she had her head turned away and carefully moved it back in stages. Her green eyes glowed inside her mask.

Their Spock kept Rhinar busy by asking how he had managed to abduct the children. _That's not it_. Keeping his enemy busy would be Spock's secondary agenda; finding out how his family was harmed so it would never happen again would be primary.

As Rhinar talked about drugging a human aide to gain the children's security phrases, Imre still worked the engineering panel blind for the most part. If he used the tricorder for light, it would splash inside the shuttlecraft.

Imre got the panel open and pushed inside. Now he risked the light – and the controls inside _Copernicus_ showing what he was doing. He practically slammed the tricorder against the shuttle components as he snapped one into its second setting. The recessed area and having the device right against the mechanisms _should_ protect it enough from the fog to scan.

 _Come on, you trusty thing, come on._

It answered his plea. One number after another came up for the shield frequency. He shot it off immediately to Saavik who as quickly informed Spock, Kirk, and the _Contact_.

All right, think.

"Captain," he whispered, "I can't shut power down from here. We can't rush him that way."

A beat. "Logical and as we expected. We would not want an enemy to do so. The engineers, therefore, prevented it."

Bimo disappeared from Imre's feet, where Ssaalz hurriedly scanned her, to duck under the shuttle. She was back in seconds. "Rhinar continues to sit by the controls. However, he repeatedly goes to the last seat on the same side as the hatch. I believe that is where Setik is."

"He could be getting equipment or going to the weapons drawer."

Her head swayed. "If he had picked up equipment, I would hear the difference in weight. It is also not phasers."

"You can hear that little difference in weight?"

"No," Saavik interrupted. "It is simply illogical to repeatedly go to the weapons drawer. It is the mark of a fearful man giving into his panic. Taushan Rhinar is not such a man. He would have taken what phasers he wanted by the second trip at most."

"However," the older Spock said, "it has been over twenty minutes since the last neural paralyzer."

Imre cursed silently. _Bastard!_

A Spock – Imre wasn't sure which – added, "Scanning a sample of the fog, provided by members of Captain Saavik's crew, reveals its composition. A portion of the metals used will interfere with the transporters. Therefore, if we were considering simply beaming out that section of the shuttle as a means of retrieving Setik, we risk a severe transporter accident."

McCoy could be heard in the background. "Who was thinking of that?"

"I was," the older Spock and Saavik said nearly in chorus.

Ssaalz may not have eyelids, but her eyes could widen like Imre's as they stared at each other. That couldn't be enough to give away their captain, could it?

Thankfully not, especially when McCoy shouted at who had to be the younger Spock and took people's attention away from the secret husband and wife. "Why can't you ever give us good news?! In short sentences!"

Kirk said, "Bones, enough. This means what we were afraid of. We have to empty that fog to beam Setik out and Rhinar will notice."

Imre asked, "Have we found that emitter?"

Scot answered him. "Not a sign of it."

Kirk turned to the engineer. "What do you think, Scotty?"

"If he has it and he's smart – and unfortunately he's proved he is – he's installed it in the center before the aft section. He's got the power transfer conduits under the deck there. It puts it right by the lad's feet so it's concentrated around him and the weapons drawer. Anywhere else, with that configuration, would weaken it."

Imre was about to talk when Kirk did. "All right, here's what I propose."

He didn't get further when Imre now asked him to hold on. Something…

Suddenly, rays of light came from the ceiling, like gods descending, making him squint tightly all over again. The way it struck the mist blurred everything about it.

"Bimo," he asked with just her name.

She listened. "It is the turntable. It is lowering from the flight deck."

"Tran!" Saavik snapped. "You were not given that order!"

But the Security Chief was as surprised as her.

Before anyone could say more, Sarek told the older Spock, who relayed it, that Rhinar was rambling. "Most likely a distraction as he has never spoken this way previously."

Saavik asked, "Why lower the turntable? He surrenders all his advantages."

Kirk sounded grim. "Then he has better ones."

Imre heard Sarek on the open channel now, trying to draw Rhinar out. The _Copernicus_ shuttered under his feet as it began its slide to the center.

He made a decision. "Captain, I'm taking Ssaalz and Bimo and going forward. The only difference is he's clearing the fog instead of us doing it. We still have the element of surprise. We'll take out the windows and rush him. He's at the controls which means he's not by Setik. We'll have him down before he can."

Before she answered, Kirk spoke. "Saavik, I know you're their captain, but Spock should have final say. He's an experienced commander and the father."

Imre heard Ssaalz's sharp warble in her throat sac and felt Bimojigar's head swaying increase as they all bit down on what they wanted to say on their captain's behalf.

Instead, Saavik said what she had to. "Agreed."

She had given Imre the right to that decision and he wondered if he should fight for it. He would have if Kirk had named anyone other than Spock.

Kirk kept the communicator open. "Spock, it's a good plan and probably our best bet. You said these were good people."

In that pause, Imre signaled his team to start moving instead of losing more time if the Vulcan said yes.

Which he did; Saavik came right on the heels of it. "Imre, the word is given."

Imre gave himself less than a second to confirm his plan as their best option. A ground attack gave Rhinar advantages that Imre didn't want him to have. He grabbed one of Ssaalz's and Bimo's hand and made a sharp gesture. They got it.

He dropped and drew his phaser. The turntable light splashed on the ceiling in a sunrise and did not yet brighten the room much; it instead made the fog appear almost… solid. He took the port side and Ssaalz went up the starboard. Bimo galloped underneath the few feet to join the Carreon on the side. Imre's one hand felt along the wide ledge or fin midway above the nacelle. He secured his phaser again and pulled himself silently up onto it right before the hatch. Crouching like his teammates most likely did on the other side, he leaped and caught the lip running along the roof. He chinned himself and slid over on his belly.

Finding Bimo and Ssaalz once more to reconnect the team, he kept his orders through touch: they'd keep their positions to the bow – him, then Bimojigar, then Ssaalz –and that was the window they'd each take. He didn't trust running on the roof or the belly crawl; he crawled regular, trusting Bimo to correct him if he went wrong.

At the bow, they spun to face aft. They bent their knees and grabbed that lip running around the roof. "Captain Saavik," he whispered. "We are going in…" He waited for either of the two to stop him since he couldn't see if there was a problem.

Rhinar suddenly announced. "I'll be damned."

" _Hold_ ," Saavik ordered the team.

Sarek, meanwhile, answered the enemy. "To what do you refer?"

"Everything I've studied pointed to all of you trying something, even though I prevented you from doing it. That's why I've been talking like I have and using the turntable. I attempted drawing you out. I swore you had someone out there in the corridor, Saavik. Kirk, you would want to do it yourself, but she wouldn't want someone of this time hurt. I believed sooner or later you'd risk it, Saavik, despite the odds. Or Spock would insist on it. Your mindless meat and his like would come lumbering through the fog. Easy targets."

Saavik responded, "If you refer to Jaxon Tran, he has an IQ of 160. No one mindless serves under my command."

"So," Rhinar went on like she hadn't talked, "I either miscalculated on the length of time it would take to draw you in or I was wrong about you sending him in at all."

"The latter."

He muttered to himself, "How? The composition of the fog is perfect, but none of you…"

"Captain," Imre asked, "we're standing by."

"At least I can take pride in the greater calculated move," Rhinar commented. "You can't come in. You are instead thwarted by my miasma turned security field."

Imre got an idea. "Captain, if he can control the turntable, then he's pulling in power to the hangar deck. That means you can get the remaining power back on. But listen, the _Copernicus_ still faces _Galileo, Columbus_ , and _Magellan_ and this is a workshop area." He reached out so Bimo and Ssaalz readied. "Blind him."

"Excellent idea," Kirk came in. "We're cutting power to the flight deck first. Wait for it."

The light spilling in from the opening turntable suddenly snuffed out. At this point, Imre almost proudly welcomed it.

Rhinar only laughed. "My own tricks! Interesting. But I don't need those lights to fly."

"Bimojigar, Ssaalz?" Imre questioned, asking if they knew a reason to stop. They said nothing to halt his command. " _Now_."

Lights from half the deck slammed into the shuttle's windows. Even the dimming from the fog couldn't stop the blinding effect. But Imre and Ssaalz faced away from it, and Bimojigar didn't care.

Rhinar yelled.

Imre slid with a small jump, letting go of the roof, and timing it from the blueprints in his head on where the bottom of the window was. A frame ran around the whole thing and his feet found a purchase, his left hand immediately clamping at the top. His phaser lay in his other hand and aimed at the window to Rhinar.

The enemy made a strangled noise in his chest. Imre heard that through the channel, but he couldn't imagine what they looked like. Three figures dropping out from the dark and then arresting light, they themselves nothing but murky forms and then silhouettes. Even the masks disguised and misshaped their faces.

Saavik spoke for her crew. "Mr. Rhinar, stay away from the controls of that shuttlecraft, and most of all, do not go near that child again."

All anyone heard was Rhinar's surprised bursts of breath like… amazement.

"I don't believe it," he spoke at last. "I do not believe it. You surprised me again. That is… _excellent_. I knew, I _knew_ you had someone out there, Saavik. But _this_."

She repeated, "Rhinar, you will shut down the shuttlecraft. If you attempt any other action, my team will find it necessary to fire."

Air from the turntable lowering and _Copernicus_ drawing closer to it made the mist thin and Imre began to see Rhinar. He was smiling.

"Ah well!" he said to Saavik, "I would not go that far. Still, a truly remarkable accomplishment. I do mean it sincerely. I _never_ saw this coming, and, I must tell you, even if I knew about it like I do now, I wouldn't have any defense against it. Sarek, you must be listening. I hope you see the level of commander protecting your world."

"Imre," Saavik ordered over the private channel.

He braced his left foot on the window and fired his phaser. It came down on the third shot and he cursed it for lasting that long. Rhinar was backing up, so far with no weapon, but that drawer was right behind Setik.

He immediately reported, "I have a visual. Lieutenant Bimojigar's report on Setik's location is confirmed!" He ran through the open window and heard the Sozon at the same time. " _Stop!_ "

He couldn't stop that quickly, no one could, and he slammed into the force field. He shot out backward and landed hard on the deck. His breath slammed out of his lungs and he couldn't say anything. His mouth contorted with pain and his body arched.

Ssaalz had leaped down when he fell. She had her scanner out as she called, "Commander Imre is down!"

"A reminder," Rhinar continued, "I did say I knew one of you would attack. Surely, you knew I'd be prepared."

"Why," Scotty sounded incredulous, "did he take the weaker configuration?"

"Because," the older Spock replied, "he reasoned we would surmise he would do the other. It did draw in our attack, as he said, while the force field still prevents us from reaching Setik, even in its weaker state."

Imre rubbed his aching chest and cursed himself for letting the enemy outthink him. Ssaalz helped him to his feet and relax so he could breathe. She took off as he let Saavik know he was back.

 _What do we do now?_ Get everything necessary and make the next attack possible.

"Sarek," Rhinar called, "we are nearing the final line to cross and I believe you may have done so already."

 _Copernicus_ resumed moving towards the turntable.

Sarek spoke. "Do you prepare to leave, Mr. Rhinar? An unexpected action when you do not have what you came for."

Kirk suddenly came over the restricted line. "Saavik! Listen!"

But a voice broke into the middle of whatever he was saying. Rhinar again. "A _third_ channel! That does seem to be the end of them. Sarek, I do not believe this is how you work. Idle chatter while others use brute force for the real tasks."

Imre ran for the shuttle, Ssaalz, and Bimojigar with him, and climbed hurriedly back on the sides when the flight deck went black.

 _Are we doing this again?_ And throw off Rhinar with it over and over? Or keep him from seeing something?

No word from the bridge but muffled sounds of a conversation.

Kirk came back online just as suddenly as before and rattled off… something.

Imre hoped his captain understood what Kirk meant because her first officer had no idea.

She did. "Mr. Imre," she stated calmly. "I am coming in."


	29. Chapter 29

(Notes: things said about the shuttle are real. I will talk specifics at the end.)

USS _Enterprise_ , Bridge

The first Romulan Commander Kirk saw had told him, "I regret that we meet in this way. You and I are of a kind. In a different reality, I could have called you friend."

He could tell Rhinar began to think that way of Sarek. A different reality where he could sit and debate with the Vulcan as respected equals over technology, principles, and the universe.

But unlike the Romulan Commander, Kirk felt no sympathy for Rhinar. He chose this reality; no one else.

Instead, the captain asked Uhura for her status and something clicked. He unexpectedly spun around to Scotty. "Communications."

"Aye, Captain. We're helping Uhura's people trace the problem."

"No, something else, something we discussed before. You said it had to do with poor communications between design and actualization. How far it can carry through even though it's clearly an issue. Wasn't that about the hangar deck?"

The engineer's eyes darted around as he tried to remember.

"It was a while ago, Scotty, but we said something about – the shuttles! Not the deck, the shuttlecrafts! Bring them up on the main viewscreen." All six of their shuttles came up. " _Copernicus_ only." The craft Rhinar had stolen took over the screen and rotated to show all angles. He knew he looked right at it, but it still hid in plain sight. "Bring up an overlay of the schematics."

Kirk's eyes ran over it; something about two halves not going together – but built anyway. _Where?_

"Captain!" Sulu found it. He zoomed in on the aft section. "Is that what I think it is?"

"Aye." Scotty shook his head. "That's it. Poor communication at its worst. Don't anybody worry about not recognizing it. Most people take it as part of the frame."

His captain grabbed the communicator. "Saavik! Listen!"

Rhinar's voice broke in. "A _third_ channel!"

Kirk pounded a fist on his chair arm as the other man kept talking and cursed vividly to himself. "Uhura! How did he get hold of a _Contact_ channel!"

Her mouth parted, her head shook no as in she had no idea, until realization came over her. "Bimojigar and I slaved our stations together so I could use it as a filtering junction. He must have found it through that way."

" _Uhura!_ "

"Yes, Captain. We're doing everything we can." She swung back to her station.

Yes, they were. He knew that. _Enterprise_ and its systems were just so massive and involved. It meant her staff had a lot to go through painstakingly.

He got out of his chair and up to the older Spock. "This is where you knowing everyone involved has to pay off. What do I say to Saavik to tell her _that_?" as he pointed to the screen.

Spock stared at the schematic himself and what it was Kirk would have to pass on without Rhinar understanding it. His head came up and he turned. "Say this to her."

* * *

"Saavik, you have to learn _why_ things work on a starship. Or you'll never get in, not with that force field around the compartment."

Kirk did not mean the prefix code this time; shuttlecrafts didn't have them. He would also not mean something exactly like that situation because he did not know of that situation.

Saavik's people looked to her for a translation, some even appeared offended by what sounded like an insult to her abilities.

She reassured them, "Spock told him to say that to me as a means of stating there is something we can use, something unclear because it is not the original function. Perhaps created as a defense or an innocuous detail that we may use offensively."

She unknowingly did what Kirk had: pulled up the _Copernicus_ at the nearest station. "He does not refer to the main hatch. It is the object we must ignore for all the noticeable reasons. He refers to something else, another way in."

"There _is_ no other way in, ma'am," Olivia Trujillo insisted. "Frankly, it would be great if the whole back opened like ours do, but they don't. He can't mean the windows either because Imre's already fighting that front. And right at the force field."

"No, Captain Kirk did not mean for us to take such an action." Saavik flew over the image, spinning it around.

Trujillo wished they could just ask and another guard, the youngest there, wondered out loud why their captain and Mr. Spock didn't just talk in Old High Vulcan to each other since Rhinar probably didn't speak it. It was halfway out of his mouth when he remembered the shuttlecraft had a Universal Translator. He turned a brilliant red.

Saavik stayed focused on the screen and Kirk's message. "He said the compartment. But there are two-" She snapped at the station to bring up schematics. _There_.

She pushed off running and snatched a night vision headset from one of the guards. "Trujillo! Tran still inspects the Observation Deck?"

"Yes, ma'am. I'm coming with you."

"No, hold this position. Mr. Imre, I am coming in."

Rhinar said jauntily, "I look forward to seeing you, Saavik."

 _You should not. This time, my son goes free whatever the cost to myself. It is you or me now._

She found the emergency steps and took them three at a time. The stairwell was contained, not opened to the deck, and therefore lit like the corridors. Saavik slid down the night vision headset but didn't stop at the flight deck, despite her people thinking she would. She only confirmed her thoughts with a quick glance inside the blackened bay. Her enemy wasn't stopping here on the turnstile. No, he meant to escape and would lift off from the deck any second now, out of reach by the time she got there.

He would also be able to see her coming, through sensors at least. In fact:

She kept running. "Imre, I have missed my opportunity!" Her crew – and Kirk's – would know to ignore that. She would never stand around, doing nothing but lamenting a lost chance.

Rhinar sniggered. "A shame. However, I do not judge you harshly by it."

Her boots hit the step on the next flight when Uhura exclaimed, "We have it! Auxiliary Communications Juncture on Deck 4 is repaired. All personnel have been moved to this new secure channel."

"Saavik!" Kirk immediately began.

"Message received. Imre, prepare for the lights again. Lead a frontal attack on my mark. It must appear to justify a large movement on the stern and you must also take out the sensor array."

He returned, "I know this makes sense somehow, so I'll save questions for later."

Saavik burst through to the Observation Deck, startling her people. She never stopped running, but slung her rifle into her hands.

"Tran! Shoot it out!" She showed him which window by taking the first shot. By the second, he fired with her. The windows were meant to withstand a great deal of force to protect observers if the shuttlebay had an accident with flying debris and open to space. It splintered instead of breaking; that was fine. Unlike Imre's frustration with the shuttlecraft windows, Saavik expected this.

She took off the rifle and tossed it to a guard; it'd be in her way now. A glance at the shuttlecraft through the first window showed it hovered a few feet in the air, still moving, and she rapidly made her calculations.

"No one follows me and shield your eyes!" She picked up speed.

And leaped.

She rammed into the collapsing window and it exploded. She plummeted down. "Now!" She squeezed her eyes shut.

Light blasted the deck again from one side like widespread phaser fire. Imre and the others had their backs to it while Rhinar would take it full in his unsuspecting eyes again. The noise by Ssaalz and the others meant they attacked the shuttlecraft for effect if not actually getting inside.

Saavik caught the starboard nacelle in her chest. She threw her arms around it before she fell.

She pulled off the night vision visor, yanked the aft panel open, and quickly scanned around the walls of the station component. "Bridge, I will need time."

"Spock's taking care of that," Kirk answered.

She grabbed her hand phaser from her belt. She pictured the schematics in her mind and began cutting through the back wall and sides of the station. Rods running across in the front blocked her; she cut the ones that served to hold the station's containing shape to give her more room. The others she must leave while she kept the ruse that no one could breach the shuttle.

 _But I am coming for you_.

In the next second, the _Copernicus_ shuddered hard. She grabbed hold, wedged herself in, and kept cutting. The shudder slipped into a constant tremor as the shuttlecraft strained.

 _Tractor beam_ , she identified. Shuttlebays had them to help bring crafts inside. This time, they held Rhinar here.

Her husband confirmed it. "Mr. Rhinar, did you believe I would simply allow you to escape with my son?"

"Be very careful, Spock."

"I am. You must be as well."

 _Dangerous._

Sarek handled it. "You were leaving with Setik before you have Coridan. You play another gambit. Why?"

Imre whispered, "Can someone tell me what's going on?"

Fortunately, the older Spock answered, saving her the trouble. "When designing a Class F shuttle, engineers envisioned a separate entrance hatch for the aft compartment. However, when the design became a reality, the stern on the craft was not built to accommodate it. And yet, the hatch exists, appearing as part of the frame. Your captain attempts cutting through to that hatch by way of the thinner walls of the aft station."

"You had me take out the sensor array," Imre thought out loud, "so he doesn't see you're back there now that the fog is gone. Captain, that hatch…"

"Yes, I know."

Saavik never would try to cut out the full hatch on the stern. Several dangers lived there – the inertial systems modulator, antigrav sequencer, ion thrusters – that could kill them all through an explosion or send the shuttle crashing into the deck.

But the most dangerous of all, the main reactor was above her head. Instead, she looked to cut about a third of the way up, enough so she'd get in and attack Rhinar from the rear.

Kirk joined them. "You still have something else, Saavik."

Why did they feel the need to point out what she knew? "The force field. I have ideas for it as well. I require Mr. Scott's assistance once more."

"Here, Captain."

He listened to her ideas and told her the greater odds. Saavik reached through the side wall and began on the stern itself to the hatch.

Imre spoke up, "Captain, I'm going underneath after the power transfer conduits."

"You cannot reach them externally."

"I know, ma'am, but the noise will cover what you're doing and Rhinar can gloat over supposedly being smarter than us. And you never know, we may pick up on something."

The older Spock came back on. "Saavik, Torpedo Control reports all missiles accounted for."

"That's something," Kirk muttered. "But why try flying away? He had to know about the tractor beam."

Scotty added, "He's got to be redlining those engines to fight that beam. Where can he go with burnt out engines?"

 _Copernicus_ strained; if this tractor beam were as strong as its main counterpart, the fight would be over. But Starfleet envisioned the one in the shuttlebay be for gentle guidance, not a full out fight.

"If we let go," Kirk started, "he-"

Saavik froze and then pushed on. "That is the strategy. _Copernicus_ is his torpedo."

He must have planned on crashing into the hangar doors, but he could just as easily fly full throttle with the tractor beam's pull and smash into the bay walls.

Kirk finished the thought. "The shuttlecraft's main reactor and each of the nacelle's warp core will explode on impact. It's big enough and close enough that it'll get to the _Enterprise_ 's warp engines. We'll all go up with them."

Saavik didn't stop. "Ambassador Sarek, I suggest it is up to you. I need a few more minutes."

She trusted in her father-in-law although she had no idea what he could do. He lived up to her confidence. He boldly asked Rhinar point blank if Kirk's theory was true.

"It is. I will be making a rather large explosion. I give all of you credit; I didn't expect you to figure out each – gambit as you aptly put it - so quickly. I thought I could stall you until Babel at least. But you have my back to the wall, so I must play my last hand. You know what this will do to the Coridan vote. Without you, Sarek, they never get into the Federation. I win. Endgame."

Yes, it was. It meant Saavik had another duty to be done. Sparks caught in her bangs and a few fell around her eyes. She calculated she was halfway there.

Rhinar spoke again. He sounded… somber. "Sarek, out of respect, I will let you die with your grandson. Therefore, Spock, I promise, your boy lives until the end for all of us."

Hearing that about her son… _How we deal with death is at least as important as how we deal with life, wouldn't you say?_

Saavik answered the memory, _Then I fail the damned test again_ , because she would not accept the idea of Setik dying here. "Kirk," she called.

"Jim, please."

"Of course. We both know the order either of us needs to give."

He paused and she imagined he looked down at his chair arm, at the shuttle controls. "The ship comes first."

 _And for that reason, we order people to their deaths. Even our own_. "Allow me what time you can and then open the shuttlebay doors."

What did Spock do when he heard all this? Saavik wished she could see him.

Kirk's voice sounded grave. Grave… and respectful. "You have every second I can give. Captain."

She heard her crew gasp in different ways and the same from the bridge – if they understood.

McCoy hollered, "Jim, that'll kill her! It'll pull out the atmosphere down there and throw her out into space! She'll die!"

Then Spock, _her_ Spock, and a little part in the back of her mind warmed all over again that _she_ was the one who could make that claim to him. His voice sounded… deadened. "She knows, Doctor."

 _Husband. Adun._

Saavik burned her hands as space grew tight and she plunged them heedlessly even deeper. Her sensitive nose flared at the smells of burnt metal and flesh. _Copernicus_ shuddered again as Kirk changed the tractor beam to forcing it out of the bay.

McCoy again: "What about the boy?"

Her husband answered, "Saavik must shut the opening she has made, an action of which she is well aware. However, he will still be exposed due to the shuttle's windows being destroyed. Unless… Mr. Rhinar." He must have opened the channel. "You stated my son will live as long as the rest of us. If you hold that as a truth, close the blast shutters."

Saavik would offer the man anything if he would do at least that much, but she knew she had nothing to give that he wanted. She called to her ship. "Mr. sh'Shytral. You are to lock on this shuttlecraft with a tractor beam in the event of the hangar doors opening. Your priority is the _Enterprise_. Draw the shuttle away quickly and, if possible, at a distance that will protect our own ship if our enemy chooses to detonate. Simultaneously, you will beam out all members of the landing party to the _Contact_. Excluding myself."

"Captain!" several people shouted at once.

"The Armstrong Limit," she reminded them firmly. "I will have a minimum of fifteen seconds to thirty seconds of effectiveness. Perhaps ninety. Even the fifteen may be all the difference."

 _I will not leave without my son._

Rhinar came back at last. "I did make that promise and I'm aware that at least Kirk is attempting something. No doubt, he has his thumb hovering over the button to open the shuttlebay doors while I watch Imre and friends attempt bringing _Copernicus_ down. …All right. I'm putting you through enough and I still have the force field which prevents you doing anything. In case Kirk pushes his button, I will close the blast shutters. And Spock… Sarek. If the child wakes up before then, I'll keep him awake so you can talk to him."

Saavik knew exactly what Spock's reaction to that would be because she was the same.

"I will not thank you," her husband said at last.

Imre called to her. "Captain, I'm coming back there to take your place."

"No, Mr. Imre, you will not. Remain with your team. We are not done yet."

"Captain! Starfleet regulations and logic state-"

Saavik pictured his expression when she said, "This responsibility is mine and I will keep it. …I had a larger duty, after all, Imre." _To my family_. "And I failed it. Bridge, I know you are listening. Take care of these people, Captain James T. Kirk. It was my role to do so. I ask that you do it better."

"Saavik, you know you did everything you could. You still are!"

"Captain," Imre said at the same time, "nobody thinks that of you!"

Both men argued but without her response, they petered out. The bay doors loomed behind her, waiting.

"Commander Imre." Her Spock again. She could tell the difference. His voice sounded no better than before. "One of your team must reach your captain. Now."

 _Yes, of course._

"Sir?" Imre asked, not understanding. She had just told him he could not take her place.

Saavik's hands faltered for less than a second and then she started cutting around the internal Atmospheric Recycling Tanks. She knew Spock's next words. They were roughened.

"In the event she is lost when the shuttlebay is opened to space."

Imre did her proud. (" _Make you proud, Captain._ ") Whatever exclamation he thought, he responded with dignity and professionalism. "Yes, sir. Of course. One of us will go now."

She heard Kirk and McCoy on the bridge asking what was going on, since Spock never told them about Vulcan _katras_ before the Khan battle and his death. She heard her husband touch on the truth without changing history, something that must make Sarek and the younger Spock curious.

She idly wondered who her first officer would send. In a second, scratching sounds grew closer and over the roof came Ssaalz with Imre himself a step behind. Saavik nearly smiled.

"So. Imre chose you."

"On the contrary," he said, leaving it open ended for the Carreon.

"I insisted." She hopped down to stand on the nacelle. "I'm sorry I'm not the ambassador. He should be here."

Saavik couldn't take the time to look at the young Carreon. "Ssaalz-"

"It's all right. I told Commander Imre why it was important to me. Even my mother's bad joke."

"It is not a bad joke. It is that Rrelthiz tells it too frequently." _She has green stripes, Friend Saavik. She was born to be named after a Vulcan!_ "You are my namesake, Ssaalz. I am honored if you take me to Mount Seleya. Imre." She moved her elbow up, so her first officer had a little more room to see and move in. She shoved out as he took the phaser. "Here, continue cutting on that line," and she drew an imaginary one.

When he did, Saavik moved her fingers to the points on Ssaalz' face. She made the mental anchor that her _katra_ would follow if her body died here. _Take this message to your mother for me as well_. She let her thoughts on how important Rrelthiz was to her flow through; her friend's daughter gave a low, poignant little quaver in her throat sac.

She eased the mental touch away and then took the phaser back; a couple seconds had passed. Ssaalz lightly rubbed at the side of her face.

"Are you all right?" Saavik asked.

Ssaalz nodded. "I thought it would bother me, but it doesn't. I don't even feel it."

No, she wouldn't. Not unless she received Saavik's _katra_.

She spoke heavily. "Mother will want to be there."

"Of course. Spock will arrange it." _If you return to our time_. Otherwise, Ssaalz would take her to Mount Seleya here.

"Ma'am," Imre said, "I'm sorry, but what about Setik's?"

"Unnecessary, he will survive." He stared at her, but he wouldn't like the answer. "If the worst happens, there will be a _katra_ bearer nearby. I will get him to you."

"Him? Wait, you don't mean – you can't be serious!"

"I am." Forcing a meld was the worst crime on Vulcan, equal to murder. All telepathic species looked on it the same way and the Federation now treated it as such in their laws. The consequences for it on Vulcan were severe.

Saavik had seen the wreckage in Valeris. She herself once created memories in a Romulan praetor but left him unharmed.

But for her son, she'd violently rip out Rhinar's mind to put in Setik's _katra_ , if it came down to it, and willingly surrender herself for punishment. "Now, you must leave, Commander. I will have you beamed out."

Imre cut that off. "No, you will not. We're back here, make use of us."

Saavik glanced under her arm to see how far away they were from the doors. "Agreed. Bimojigar."

Sarek suddenly burst onto the comm channel. "Mr. Rhinar. You must listen to the following."

Saavik was buried up to her feet when the first voice spoke:

"I am Ambassador Csala and I am the principal Caitian representative. I vote for Coridan to join the Federation."

The next voice said, "I am Ambassador Rayfh of Earth. For the official record, I vote for Coridan to become a Federation member."

Saavik wasn't sure what was happening, except it wasn't surprising to hear Sarek's allies vote with him. But then:

"I am Trorv, the senior ambassador for the Tellarites. I give my vote for Coridan to be a member."

On his heels came, "I am Jyart of the Wuc'Ul and I am voting in favor of the Coridan systems."

One by one they spoke and Saavik realized now that it was recordings. Sabina Leclercq, also of Earth; Vulwadar, Shras, Veothur, Seluban, Taxeer, Sudav… each one spoke and unanimously, they voted with Sarek. No abstentions and no dissensions.

History had happened differently; Sarek had carried the day, but a minority had voted against Coridan. And they had not voted until after a long battle at Babel.

Sarek talked over their voices after a handful were heard. "A unanimous vote, Mr. Rhinar, with each one verified through their diplomatic credentials. For Coridan. These recordings are an accepted way to log our votes. They are being loaded into a probe and if you attempt destroying the shuttlecraft and this ship, the probe will be launched and will survive our destruction. The Federation will receive it and record our vote. You will fail. Endgame."

Imre ducked to look into where Saavik tore her way into _Copernicus_. "Did you _hear_ that! That was _brilliant_!"

Shras had warned Rhinar about entering the arena with Sarek.

At last, she could let go of the phaser trigger. "We're in." She pulled herself through the narrow opening, reaching up for the hatch, and breaking its seal.

Sarek continued, "Endgame, Rhinar, if that is what you choose for your people. You can, however, still work with me and together we can save your world. Land the shuttle and release Setik. I will then delete the recordings from the probe and the Coridan issue goes to Babel to decide. With my advocating for your people as part of the vote."

Saavik got to her feet while Imre, Bimojigar, and Ssaalz came after her. She leaned over the Sozon and spoke in a volume that barely registered as a breath. Her communications officer yanked open a hatch in the floor and disappeared inside what Scott had called, "a space that makes an access tube look roomy."

Saavik quickly looked out the stern: those clamshell doors appeared close enough to touch. But that was an illusion based on their size in relation to her. However, it changed her plan.

Imre came up with a strategy to work around the force field in the main compartment. One that Ssaalz and he embraced.

"We'll go first, Captain," he said. "Stay on our other side. We'll be a shield for you. We're still going to get burned at the door, but if what Mr. Scott says is true, it'll be weakened."

Sarek had kept speaking. "You state I chose Coridan over my family, Mr. Rhinar. You are wrong. I sought a way to protect your planet along with the Coridan systems. However, you cannot do what you have done to my _grandson_ and succeed by it. Choose this ending instead and you obtain what you desire most. As do we."

Bimojigar popped up from underneath the deck. "The force field emitter is where we thought. At the controls, center, and stationed under the floor. He's hard wired it to the power conduits. I can take the emitter down but it will bring down the shuttlecraft too, Captain."

"All right then," Imre said and pulled his phaser. "That obviously changes things. We go with an old-fashioned plan at this point. Ssaalz, you need to hang back. You can't be in the same danger as the captain. Not when you're her _katra_ bearer. Ready?"

"Mr. Bimojigar," Saavik whispered. "Exchange phasers with me." Hers was drained from getting inside. "You did well, all three of you. I commend you and thank you."

"One does not thank logic," Imre responded warmly. "On your mark, Captain."

She knew they still hadn't realized the full implication of the force field not extending to this compartment. " _Contact_ , transport Commander Imre's party back to the ship."

They wanted to shout but knew they couldn't, and as they protested, they were gone.

" _Contact_ , can you find Mr. Imre's tricorder reading?"

Thalla answered. "Yes, ma'am. We just need that force field down."

"If we have no other option, lock on to the tricorder and beam that section of the shuttle out."

"…Aye, Captain."

Saavik didn't need to look outside again to know how much time she had left. It's why she had her people transported out. She shut the aft hatch to protect Setik.

"Saavik, I am here."

She had been crouching by the door to the main compartment. "Spock… not on the flight deck?"

"No, outside its entrance. I want to be in there, but I accept at last that I cannot. The twins… Simply know, if the worst happens, I am as close as I can be to you… and our son."

She very slowly slid open the door halfway, letting it shield her from Rhinar's sight and the force field. "Not Setik. I will not allow it. He will come home. …Spock, you said _our_ _son_."

"I told them I needed a private channel to speak with my wife. _Contact_ is managing it. They have also allowed me to stand here alone so no one overhears us."

"Then…" What to say that could ever possibly summarize them and all they were in a second? " _T'hyla_ ," she whispered and then his private name, his _ahtiá_ name, even more softly.

He said it back to her with her self name, like so many times when they were alone to be simply her and him and _them_.

She took it with her as she set herself at the door, stashing the earpiece in her belt. The energy of the force field did as Scott predicted: it filed through the door opening and flowed along the walls of the aft compartment.

But it also went straight back, boxing her in. She held her phaser, ready, as she went to the edge of the doorway and moved out the slim amount so she could see without, hopefully, being seen. Rhinar was at the controls, his back to her. Silently, she slipped into the main compartment; just as Imre had warned, she crossed a measure of the force field where it struck the door and made a barrier. It _burned_ , but it was weakened by a portion of the energy wrapping around the aft compartment. She could move through it and she was Vulcan. Her controls put the pain aside automatically and rushed healing measures to the damaged areas.

Her lunge took her behind Setik's chair. Again, she looked out to make sure Rhinar hadn't noticed and saw her son's right arm hanging lifelessly. She touched his hand: cold, more than his lower body temperature. She tried finding his pulse, but couldn't. The neural paralyzer, she made herself remember; it was not that Setik had died. She would have sensed that.

Her mind went through one option after another.

"What if," Rhinar said to Sarek, "I-"

He spun in his chair and Saavik rose to her full height. She kept the phaser lowered for right now, but her finger stayed on the trigger.

In the face of his total shock at seeing her, he managed to ask, "How?! It's _impossible_! I worked for years- _How?!_ "

"Accept what Sarek offers you," she only replied. "You will have what you want."

"What if I decided that to win, I can't be in your prison?"

She heard Kirk call for her. "Saavik... We're out of seconds."

A rumble sounded around them: the shuttlebay doors opened. Saavik took a closer step to her child, which wasn't much because she was on top of him already.

"You know your choices," she insisted. "That is not one of them."

He glared at her, coldly. "I still have the upper hand over you." And hit a control.

Saavik aimed her phaser at him before his hand was off the button; he raised his too. And then:

The blast shutters opened. Saavik's eyes narrowed behind the phaser. Their air rushed out the open windows to be replaced by vacuum. Her hair whipped into her eyes and the pull from space tried dragging her feet away from her.

He got up; he was out of plans, each one taken down by their countermoves. But she was no idiot: the force field was still his; he still commanded the shuttle, and they had little time to live.

"I have the upper hand because I still control his life." His phaser moved to aim at Setik. "Mine is set to kill. Although a stun shot would kill him at this point. We're headed for the vacuum of space, Saavik. This is my choice. Death before prison. It sounds grand, doesn't it? A Vulcan will never let a world suffer, so Sarek will save my people."

One move left for either of them. Or both.

"Stalemate, Saavik. You have no-"

She shot him.

* * *

Note: Some tech fans found original blueprints where the shuttlecraft had a rear hatch. The director even had McCoy move around in "Galileo 7" as if he comes in from the outside through the rear hatch. Of course, you look at the Galileo and it obviously has no rear hatch and no place for one. That rear door was removed from the blueprints; I only saw them in the one, old drawings. But it gave me an idea. :)


	30. Chapter 30

Shuttlecraft _Copernicus_

Setik stayed in danger even as his mother shot Rhinar. So, when she fired, she already twisted her body to cover her son. Rhinar's hand pulled the trigger on his phaser out of reflex, a half second behind her and at Setik, even as he got hit and fell.

As she grabbed her son, her enemy's shot got her deep in her ribs, just missing her heart and spine. His falling turned a killing angle to a damaging one, but even so, she fell to the deck, forcing her phaser to stay aimed, Setik still folded into her.

Rhinar lay sprawled in front of the console. Saavik made sure he was unconscious before lowering her phaser. The first thing to do was put back her earpiece before she called out, unsure if she was on the private channel.

" _Spock_. I have Setik."

Tight in her arms and not letting go. She pushed herself onto her feet and spoke again, requesting the _Enterprise_ bring the shuttlecraft back in and land them on the deck, being the closest starship. Stewart and Tran were to meet her as soon as she landed.

Breathing became difficult although lungs bred for Vulcan's thin atmosphere handled it better. But her son so weakened already…

Setik couldn't wrap his arms and legs around her, so gravity and space greedily pulled on him. His weight dragged at her wound and the weakest point tore open and bled. But she wouldn't put him down. He was cold, so cold, but she swore she felt some breath. Or so she told herself.

Her pain disciplines again took away the distracting agony, so she made it to the controls and raised the blast shutters. She collapsed in a chair and waited for the tractor beam to take hold, then shut down power. Now she could focus solely on her son; she brushed his hair back and gently reached into his mind. " _Pi'veh_ ," she crooned. _Little one_.

There, a small flicker. She could just make it out. She got back on the comm channel. "Spock." Did her voice hitch or waiver? "He is _alive_. His mind responds."

The sound of a transporter – _her_ transporters – came from behind her and formed Imre, Bimojigar, and Ssaalz, who leaped to her and Setik.

Imre spoke before she could ask, "Finishing what we started, ma'am. I'll watch this one." He kept guard on Rhinar and ordered Bimojigar to coordinate everyone listening on what had happened.

The Carreon had a medical tricorder running already. Saavik told her about how cold Setik was and not finding a pulse, but she did sense a distant touch in his mind.

"Keep talking to him, Captain. It helps."

Ordinarily, Saavik was too private a person to speak to her son like this in front of them. But now… " _Ish-veh sa-mekh nam-tor fi' ish-veh yut._ " She leaned down closer. " _Sarlah pla' tor etek_."

 _Your father is on his way. Come back to us_.

Ssaalz looked down at the readings. "Captain, are you hurt?"

"Setik first."

They landed, bringing in Tran – with a squad - and Stewart. She joined Ssaalz as the Tran brothers picked up the unconscious Rhinar and held him drooping between them. Her Spock got there at the same time. He stopped in the hatch, sizing things, and her eyes flew to him. He knelt by her side and put his arms next to hers under Setik.

Rhinar's head lifted groggily. Saavik snapped her phaser to aim at the point between his eyes. Setik laid in the crook of her right arm, but her left was enough for this shot if the need came.

Her phaser pointed at him woke him up completely. He saw the child in his mother and father's arms as doctors worked on him and something oily moved under the surface as he smiled at her. "How's the boy?"

Spock stopped Imre and the Trans. "No. This is for us to answer."

She said nothing, only stared down the length of the weapon into her enemy's eyes. That made him grin more.

"Is this where you go to shoot me, fatally this time, your hand shaking as you war with your morality versus what I've done to your child? Some of your people swearing they'll never tell if you kill me in cold blood while someone else tells you this isn't who you are? I'm certain Spock would take on that role."

Her husband replied evenly, "No, I would not."

Saavik lifted her eyebrows. "You watch too many holovids, Mr. Rhinar. I am doing none of that. Mr. Tran," she said significantly, "we need information. Interrogation level code, Full Dimension."

It was like the grin transferred from Rhinar to her Security Chief. As it faded from the one, it grew on the other. "My favorite level, Captain."

"Wait!" Rhinar shouted.

She ignored that. "I'll have more for you later, Commander. Leave one team here, but you may transport the rest out now."

"Yes, ma'am!" Jaxon contacted their ship and ordered the beam out.

"What does that code mean?" Rhinar yelled.

Tran jerked him off his feet as he bared his teeth in anger. "It means we remember Nachson."

The transporter beamed them out.

Sadly, in the next minute, Stewart told them, "We got to take Setik from you. We need to lay him out."

Saavik felt something coiling inside him even as she did what Frances said. The doctor pressed a hypospray on the boy's neck. "What is it?" she asked.

Setik's little body suddenly bucked and twisted. Stewart shouted, "He's seizing! Ssaalz!" The Carreon handed another hypospray and it was hurriedly used. Setik stilled.

From outside came a voice Saavik never expected to hear and immediately told herself that she should have. "Get out of the way and let me through! I don't care about any secrets! I'm a doctor, all I do is keep secrets! Now stand aside! Didn't you hear the boy is seizing!"

" _Move!_ " Imre yelled and took Ssaalz and Bimojigar with him to the aft compartment. Saavik and Spock separated; worse, she had to step back, once more the concerned captain instead of Setik's troubled mother.

McCoy paused at Spock, "It's going to be all right," before he knelt next to Stewart. "What can I do, Frances?"

"It's what you'd think, Len. His nervous system has been horribly abused. Now it's fighting back."

"Which puts it through more abuse. All right, we're taking him to Sickbay."

Saavik touched her earpiece. "We will transport him to the _Contact_."

"No!" McCoy argued. He scooped up Setik. "We're not adding a transporter on to everything else his body has been through. Not when he's going through seizures!"

For the first the time in a very long time, he set Saavik against him and her controls held by one last thread. "Doctor," she ground out. "That is your response to transporters in general."

McCoy's eyes darted to Spock before he looked at her again with… sympathy? "Captain, we can't argue over this. We don't have time! Frances, you explain." He dashed out of the hatch and they heard the gurney rushing for Sickbay. "Chapel! Prep for an emergency case. Dr. Stewart will take lead. A Vulcan boy – yeah, that's right! It's him! What other Vulcan boys are around?"

Saavik swung on Stewart. "Get Setik back. Never mind. I will have him transported from the gurney." She started calling the _Contact_.

Frances stepped in front of her. "I'm sorry, Saavik. He's right. I don't want to put Setik through a transport if I don't have to. You yourself said something like this might happen. I'm going with them, so you don't have worry about that front."

Saavik started to leave. "Then let us go after them."

Stewart bit at her lower lip. "Saavik… you can't go."

She moved until there was no space between them. "Remove yourself, Doctor."

"I'm sorry, I'm so sorry. But you're wounded and do you think McCoy isn't going to want to check that out? That means he sees your blood – or someone else does - and he recognizes the elements he can't identify in Setik's. Or I work on you and your blood gets in the system. And what reason are you going to give for keeping your physiology a secret? That's shouting out you're the mystery mom they've been wondering about. Something else – and I don't mean this as an insult… but it's written all over your face. All right, not like that, and maybe I see it because I know it, but odds are, someone else in that room like Sarek or the younger Spock will see it too. You know that means you're risking your own life and your family. I can't go into all the reasons because I need to catch up to Setik, but go to the _Contact_ and have Ssaalz take care of you. You can come back as Captain Saavik soon, I'm sure." She looked like her own heart broke over this. "I am really sorry."

Saavik couldn't even say the words. She only nodded. Stewart dashed out and Saavik stared at the deck when she felt Spock's hand take hers. He pulled her to him. She embraced him, breathed him in, and then stepped back.

"Go," she told him. "And tell me… all that is happening."

"Every moment," he swore and ran off.

"Saavik?" Kirk called.

He and the younger Spock came through the hatch. Her legs grew weak, but she locked them to get through this last thing.

The _Enterprise_ captain looked around and said lightly, "You broke my shuttle."

She replied, "We had agreed you would stay away from the shuttlebay."

Kirk nodded solemnly. "We did." It slid into a smile. "We stayed until I opened the bay doors and we stayed outside the hatch. You wouldn't have done any different. Your people put up a good fight about letting us in."

She left that hanging in the air and turned to the younger Spock. "Sarek?"

"Goes to the brig for my mother and the twins. They are, most likely, at Sickbay by this point."

Saavik's head lowered when she heard the rest of her family were fine.

Kirk moved next to her and young Spock flanked her.

 _No, do not come so close, Spock._ Something she thought she'd never say. _Stewart is right. I can control this for only so long._

"Are you all right?" Kirk asked.

She nodded, hiding her wound by turning her body so it was away from them. She had been finding her strength and balance, so she stood there, uniform and spots on her skin smeared with grime and blood, and still every bit what Kirk knew as strong, female, Vulcan, and Captain.

And who the younger Spock knew as _Most impressive_.

"I must go. I have my people here and a prisoner I must attend." _As well as a physiology to hide_. "Starfleet officers should not have to – skulk in doorways so others can't see them. …I plan to return before we must take the _Contact_ back through time. However, 'the best-laid plans of mice and men often go awry'. In that event."

Her legs buckled and she fell into the seat. Her left arm went around her middle and now the wound became visible. Her pale hand showed blood seeping through.

"Captain," Spock rushed to her, "she is injured."

She held up the bloodied hand, but he still crouched next to her chair.

Kirk insisted, "Come to Sickbay." He headed her off. "The battle's done. Setik's been saved and so has the ship. Even I know when it's time to give into the doctors."

"You forget, I know you, Captain. You only 'give in' when forced to do so. However, the point now is different."

"Your doctor is here." He started to say more, but she spoke first.

"My chief medical officer is here. So is another. Dr. Ssaalz?"

"Yes, Captain!" came from the aft compartment.

"She can care for me and we must leave soon. Time must be restored." A spark flashed in her dark eyes. "As soon as Setik is treated, we will beam out the older Spock and his family. His wife and their mother has waited long enough."

"Of course. I hope you're able to come back before you leave, but if not… my compliments to your officers. And their captain."

She looked between them and allowed herself to let her eyes stay on Spock last. "It has been an honor. _Du nam-tor kanok-vei I puzhu-tor._ "

She left the Vulcan words untranslated so they remained between the two of them. They were safe; anyone impressed by him would say the same.

He said them to her and then in Federation Standard, "The honor has been ours."

"You must go," she pushed out through her teeth.

They listened at last and so they missed, as they were meant to, the sight of Ssaalz rushing to Saavik as they readied to beam out.

"Captain?" Imre came to her side. He took her weight so she leaned on him and kept the other side free for Ssaalz to work on the wound.

Saavik didn't fight him, but she also didn't give the order she needed to give: the one taking her from her family.

Imre gave it for her and used that amazing ability of his to talk. "Ma'am, Setik was the priority and _you_ got your _son_ back. Remember that, because it's everything."

Her eyes stayed locked on where Spock and Setik had disappeared. "You are quite right." The transporter beam started. "He and his sisters," _all of my family_ , "remain the priority. Imre."

"Here, ma'am."

"After Sickbay has cleared you, I have your next orders."


	31. Chapter 31

USS _Contact_ , Auxiliary Computer Core Access

Rhinar wore a grin bordering on the maniacal. Yes, he'd murdered a guard to get out of the brig – and took his uniform, but if Jaxon Tran was going to make it so easy to escape, then it was his fault his tattooed man was dead.

Rhinar couldn't do anything with the computer core itself, not without knowing Saavik's modifications, but that was all right. He first checked that his changes to other stations were in play for when the _Contact_ attempted the slingshot effect to go back through time. Helm, navigation, engine access – on both the battle bridge and the main – were still active. He only checked for the triumph of it; his enemies had not beaten him at everything. Now, they'd learn that point in all its finality.

He was doing the last thing he could: make sure the _Contact_ didn't go back in time and undo his work. This way, Sarek knew about Frubria when he went to Babel.

Rhinar got out the retina scan falsifier; he had grabbed it from where he had stored it and a padd before beaming over to the _Enterprise_. He laid them both on the console and started the recording.

The padd broadcasted close to the computer microphone pickup and he held the retina falsifier up to the sensor. The computer reported, "Recognize Saavik."

He held up Imre's. "Recognize Imre, Risteárd."

Rhinar already had been waiting tensely. Now his back tightened to the point of aching. He risked everything on this, but he had no choice. He didn't have the profile for anyone else. He held up the third retina scan.

The computer came back, "Recognize Nachson, Kyle E."

He blew out that breath. He thought they hadn't removed Nachson from the system yet.

Saavik's recorded voice ordered, "Computer. Initiate auto-destruct sequence."

The computer asked, "Does Imre, Risteárd concur?"

Imre again, "I do. Initiate auto-destruct sequence."

"Desired time interval?

The cold grin came back. They wouldn't have time to gasp at their coming deaths let alone stop him.

Saavik's voice said, "Initiate auto-destruct sequence interval, five seconds."

The computer confirmed, asking for codes. He played Saavik's, Imre's, and Nachson's in order. The codes had been the easiest part: he had hardwired them into the system himself. He had created a personal emergency for the man who had logged in to enter them and then generously offered to take over. He got the codes and wasn't listed as the one who did.

Wait — he forgot something else he had set up. No, no it didn't matter. He wouldn't need it now.

One last step: he never would face imprisonment and Sarek, as a Vulcan, would save his people, he was sure of that. _The grand finale. This time it's real, Sarek. You will know that I kill your daughter, even if not who, and you can watch Spock and your grandchildren's devastation as it happens._

Perhaps the children and Spock were on board, after all. Saavik might have insisted they come back. No reason not to do it.

 _I win._

At the same time, Rhinar used her voice for one more thing. He hadn't done this before because he wanted Sarek to see that what he did, he did for his people. Not out of malice, not even out of a desire to change time in any way but to save his world. To give his coming children a better life. Perhaps he had kept quiet even out of respect for his adversaries.

Although it _had_ been fun to twist Spock and Saavik over it. Turned out he was a sore winner.

The computer stated, "Destruct sequence completed and engaged. Awaiting final code for five second countdown."

Saavik could try to stop the self-destruct, but she wouldn't make it.

Her recording answered, "Code Saavik alpha, one, zero. Destruct. Zero."

"Destruct Sequence is activated. Five seconds..."

His requested connection through Saavik's recorded voice to the _Enterprise_ went through at the same time. "Mr. Spock."

"Four..."

"The _fascinating_ —"

"Three..."

Kirk tried cutting in, but Rhinar just barreled through. He had to rush it. "— Captain Saavik?"

"Two..."

"You marry her." _Enterprise_ went into an uproar.

"One..."

"Now watch her die," Rhinar finished and readied himself for death.

"Simulation complete. Deactivating holographic environment."

The place where he stood disappeared for a cavernous room marked by a grid. An odd mechanical noise sounded, like massive gears rolling back, and suddenly there was a huge archway where a wall had been and two large doors splitting in the center to slide back.

 _Oh no. No, no, no!_ Rhinar broke into a run, but there was nowhere to go.

Imre strode confidently into the room flanked by Caleb Tran and a squad of people – including the tattooed one Rhinar swore he killed. The Security group swarmed past their commander through the opening and all over him.

Imre folded his arms behind him, still dressed in this era's uniform for some reason, and mockingly lectured Rhinar. "The updates to the holodecks are very well done, wouldn't you say? Of course, you probably wouldn't, even though you should. Instead, you forgot about the holodeck being a possibility, even with how easy we made it for you to supposedly wander around the ship and tell Spock who he marries. The captain thought you would. Forget, that is."

Rhinar shot out, "This is her Full Dimension code!"

Imre pointed at him in a _good for you_. "Yes, it is. We gave you something to sleep and while you napped – you snore, did you know that? – we moved you in here. By the way, recordings don't work for auto-destruct sequences. The captain had wondered about that too which is why we had this simulation already set up. And we did remove Kyle from the system, for which I personally cursed you the entire time. We merely altered the holographic environment so that it agreed with what you thought. Couldn't let you know we're not – what did you say? – mindless meat."

For the first time, Rhinar couldn't think of what to say and it twisted inside him.

"Thank you for showing us where all your system changes were made. Very helpful. Tran, take him to his new location. You should like it, Mr. Rhinar. The captain picked it out especially for you."

Rhinar's anger overrode anything positive he felt for his enemies and he fought against their hold. "You don't know everything! I just didn't check it all before I finished! _You don't know everything!_ "

They pulled him into the hall and away to his cell, so he didn't hear Imre say, "That's what I'm afraid of."

He would have rejoiced if he had heard because it would make them stew: did they miss something? Had they caught it already? For that matter, was he sending them on a wild goose chase?

Rhinar also didn't see Imre contact Saavik who was still in Sickbay, but now on her feet. And Rhinar certainly didn't hear her say, "Connect me with the _Enterprise_."

Amanda's heart was about to burst watching Setik sitting up in bed and the twins in constant motion around him. The last hours waiting while the doctors worked on her grandson had been as trying as Sarek's heart surgery – could it really be only yesterday? Especially after the taxing time wondering and worrying in the brig.

She had stood next to the older Spock and sat when he sat, leaving him alone only when he spoke with his wife on what was happening, so they could speak freely. Amanda caught the tail end of one conversation and even then, just the sound right before her daughter closed the connection. It was enough for Amanda to hear that voice again:

 _"It is difficult being away from them. They are in this situation and I cannot be with them. I am... bound."_

Kirk and the younger Spock came in and out, taking care of things so the family could stay there. Inquiries came in from around the ship, people who had been in the rec room asking about Setik. The _Enterprise_ captain handled these too.

The last time, he hitched his hip on one of the Exam room beds. "Spock," he told the older one, "you know McCoy will bring Setik through this. You're going to have your son back. Bones won't allow anything else be the answer."

Spock responded, "I have all the confidence in Dr. McCoy – and Dr. Stewart. I have known him long enough to know he will do everything at his command to heal Setik."

"Good." Neither of them spoke about the obvious omission in their talk: that there might not be anything the doctors could do.

The comm panel hailed Kirk and said he was needed. He replied he was on his way. "I wish I could stay," he told the older version before he turned to his first officer. "You can, Mr. Spock, if you want."

"I do, Captain." No one expected that answer and it made Kirk give him a look of approval. Amanda went to get another chair from the lab at the end since they had already drawn over the one from the nurse's station and the two from the doctor's office. But he saved her the trouble and joined his family in the space between the exam beds as they all focused on the boy who would be his someday.

A half hour later, Kirk had called down and apologized, but the younger Spock was needed on the bridge. Something to do with the _Contact_ and getting to Babel on time.

Babel.

Aides had interrupted them for the same reason: the real Coridan vote in sight and they must give minimal updates to Sarek at least.

The younger Spock had lingered next to his counterpart and finally said, "You will keep me informed?"

"I will," was the promise. "It is your right to know."

Amanda had said little to the older version of her son – in words. Once, however, she took his hand in hers as they and Sarek stared at the door to the ward and wondered and waited as silhouettes went by on the plastic partition and voices rose and fell. A message came out that Setik would live, but whether he would be whole in mind and body… it was too early to tell.

Her son's hand had tightened on hers, the only sign he made, and Amanda reached for her husband with her other hand. For a moment, the three of them united: those two forces of nature filling her with a strength which she gave in return, and trying to use their combined drive to heal Setik and bring him back to them.

Illogical, but Spock stared ahead as he said, "My logic is uncertain where my son is concerned." Sarek's head swung to him as he too stared and slowly nodded.

Then the twins had entered the room, having demanded their father to the point their guards called and asked if it was all right. T'Pren went to her grandfather, maybe because Spock held on to Amanda, and looked up with large eyes.

"Am I too old to be picked up, Grandfather? If I am, may the cause be sufficient?"

Sarek's strong arms reached down and swooped her up. T'Kel, as always, lacked such subtlety. She just pushed in between her father's legs and against his chest and then went boneless. Spock squeezed his mother's hand once more, this time in thankfulness, and put arms around his oldest daughter before she slipped to the floor.

Amanda moved that hand to Spock's arm and the other on Sarek's, and they all stared at the door until McCoy and Stewart, at last, came out. When they had heard Setik would be fine, she had reached over and kissed her son's cheek.

 _I've sat here twice, worrying about losing a part of my world. I never want to see this spot again._

Now she held herself back from fussing over her grandson. He had accepted a lot of it until he reached a point where he looked up at her and she got the message.

The girls filled Setik in on their adventures of riding on the Tran brothers' backs, how their guards had a contest of "speaking mightily like in the old tales", and how they were the judges. Amanda grinned at the reminder and adored every one of Saavik's people for the extent they went to distract the twins.

Then, T'Pren continued, they and Grandmother told stories – including ones about Father when he was their age (Spock stared sourly at his mother for that) — and it helped them so much because what they _really_ thought about the whole time was their brother.

Setik kept his father close and his eyes turned to circles as much as they could when the younger Spock came in to check on him out of personal concern, not out of duty. He suddenly and bravely asked the latter if he could say something privately. Amanda gladly saw her son agree and lean closer to hear Setik's whisper. He stood up, very thoughtful before he bent down again to whisper back.

"Is that of some assistance?" the younger Spock asked.

"Yes, sir." Except Setik did not appear as if it had.

Surprisingly, her son agreed. "It is a difficult situation. Perhaps your dilemma is partly due to being unable to ask the one you know."

That miniature, blue eyed, version of his face mimicked his thoughtful expression. "I believe you are right, sir."

Amanda first wondered what they could be talking about and then got a sinking feeling she knew.

Setik kept his grandparents as close as his father, which gave Amanda a sigh of relief. It turned out to be even better because, as Dr. Stewart packed her medical kit, Kirk told the boy how Sarek took on Rhinar in a battle with entire worlds on the line and refused to back down because of his grandson. The captain made it into the grandest tale where Sarek defeated the Titan Rhinar through his own particular lightning bolts: intelligence, personal power, and words. Rhinar hadn't stood a chance.

 _All true_ , Amanda thought lovingly.

Setik sat up straighter for the obvious reason: he equaled entire worlds, Grandfather said so. He settled against his pillows with some importance, complete with attempting to wear his pajamas with the bearing Sarek wore his ambassador's garb and his father – _fathers_ – wore their uniforms.

Amanda turned to her husband, glowing with pride. "Maybe I should have stayed on the bridge to see it all for myself." In the next second, she had to reassure the twins she didn't mean that literally.

Chapel came back in the ward as well and Stewart asked for a moment. But Frances moving away emphasized the hole next to the bed and the man who stayed back consciously: McCoy. Setik had yet to look at him.

Instead, he asked his father about Kyle Nachson. Spock sat on his bed. "Do you wish to discuss it?"

The child thought that over before he shook his head. "I wanted to say that I apologize, Father, that I… caused him… to die."

Amanda wasn't the only to say, "Setik, no! It's not your fault!" A chorus from everyone echoed it until Spock gestured for quiet so he could talk to his son about how he wasn't to blame.

The older Spock's communicator, that he kept with him for private talks, signaled the _Contact_ was hailing him. He stepped away.

The children brightened. T'Pren announced, "They will transport us over now. We will be back with _Mother_. We are going _home_."

Amanda clamped down on the way her heart spasmed. Time to say goodbye; she knew she must and here it painfully was. She would see them again, but how long would that be? Remarkable how much that thought _hurt_. When she looked around the room, she was astonished to see she wasn't the only one. Kirk, McCoy… could that be her son looking wistful?

"I understand. A moment." Amanda could read that the older Spock had difficult news. He came back to the center of the room, in between the children, and spoke to them gently. "You are remaining on the _Enterprise_. The _Contact_ will be attempting to repair time. They cannot guarantee they have removed all of Rhinar's sabotage and therefore, it is safer if you continue to be here."

All their brightness drained quietly away.

Kirk demanded, "Is that Saavik?" Plainly, he thought he could get her to change her mind if it was her.

"It is my wife," Spock answered.

The twins climbed up on the nearest bed and leaned against each other. And Setik… Setik shut down completely as his newly healed, overtaxed nervous system dealt with more strain, even as the adults pointed out that it didn't mean his mother didn't want to be here.

Amanda looked around at each hurting grandchild's small face and imagined the daughter on the other end of that communicator. She heard all over again the things they had said when they had talked.

She drew up, in command. " _Enough_. Tell the poor woman she can come to her children."

The older Spock favored her with a look of gratitude. "You are most kind, Mother. Everyone must clear Sickbay."

"I'm staying." She preempted his arguments. "I know who she is, Spock."

Sarek gazed at him just as squarely. "As do I."

McCoy leaned on the foot of Setik's medical bed. "So do I. Naturally."

The older Spock frowned. "You may believe you know, however, it does not equal that you in fact do."

Sarek gave it thought as he glanced around the ward. He found a padd and wrote as he spoke cryptically. "Without her being able to do so directly, I was impressed with her _command_ of how she aided us, even from afar." He handed the tablet to his son, keeping the name towards the floor for privacy.

The older Spock read it and looked sharply at his father. He cleared it and handed it to his mother.

Amanda tried to think of something equal to Sarek's. He hadn't emphasized the word _command_ , she had when she heard it. As she did now. "You can tell her I believe the _captain_ can only agree with what we're saying and allow her to transport over here." She wrote the name and passed it over.

Her son read it and his eyes jumped back to hers. He erased it once more and held it out to the doctor.

McCoy held up a hand, refusing the padd as he folded his arms and said one word. "Biology."

Kirk also waved off the padd with a smile. "Add me to the number."

The older Spock looked at nothing and then spoke low into his communicator. He looked around them all once more. "Agreed. However, all other _Enterprise_ personnel must clear the room." He looked at his younger self. "It especially holds true for you."

A reluctant Christine Chapel and everyone else cleared except the younger Spock. He started to say – what? Amanda wondered. Was he finally settling into his future and didn't want to leave?

But he knew what he had to do and nodded. He raised his eyes at last. "May I leave a message?"

His older self's eyebrows went up. So did his mother's. "Of course."

"Tell her… I anticipate the day when I will know."

His older self watched him go and then looked after Chapel.

Amanda noticed. "What is it, Spock?"

"This has been unfair to her. To give her the thought this is hers: her children, her being the wife. If I could, I would tell her of the good life she has coming to her. A brilliant career, a husband, and children. Everything she wants and deserves. She'll learn she is far more fortunate moving on from me."

The sound of a transporter started and the darkness washed away from him like a waterfall in an oasis. He timed it beautifully. The hum grew and he held out his two fingers towards that spot. Eagerly, Amanda thought. "Mother, Father, Doctor, and Captain. May I present she who is my wife."

Amanda felt a growing smile split her face as her daughter's form solidified. As the dark curls falling around delicately pointed ears, and the tall length inside the captain's uniform came into being, she was surprised at how excited she was. She had focused on the children's suffering and knowing her daughter-in-law did too, but now… now she remembered and felt all over again how much she had hoped for this.

Saavik beamed in, touched her husband's two fingers with hers and held them there as the bond between them filled the air. Her eyes swept the others, stopping for a second on each of them, but she needed and wanted to go to her children. The girls were the closest. They pressed into her and she calmed the keen edge that they did it with, even as she deeply drank them in.

Setik kept his face turned away and his small body was tight. It was clear to everyone who he was upset with, but Amanda could see that McCoy and Kirk didn't understand why.

Setik addressed his knees. "You finally came here."

"Yes, I did. My preference was to be here since the beginning." Saavik leaned forward. "I wish you did not have to go through such a time."

McCoy threw back his head before speaking _sotto voce_. "Of course, how did I miss it? It's all about Mom."

Setik had made it clear that Saavik wasn't just Mother; she was _Mother_ , the reason the whole universe existed. She stood atop a pedestal and made Setik's world revolve.

She had fallen.

He refused to look at her when he spoke and Amanda swore she could see her daughter's heart snap under the facade. "I have, rather. Been through such a time."

Saavik's facade was for him, not that he understood that. His speech slipped here and there, giving him an odd officiousness, as he fought to push his young control to the last of its strength. All the while fighting to keep the tatters of his image of his mother somewhat together against the damning evidence of his eyes.

Saavik kept calm, trying... simply trying, like any mother.

Spock interceded. "Setik, you do not understand as you think you do."

His son interrupted and he knew he shouldn't. "I do, however. Mother didn't come until Grandfather and Grandmother made her when they said they knew who she was."

Spock and Sarek simultaneously started to correct him, but Amanda put a staying hand on her husband's wrist as she gave her son a shake of her head. The child's mother needed to do this.

Saavik looked at McCoy. "Is he confined to that bed?"

"No. He's just –"

She moved on _No_. She scooped her son up into her arms and took a step back, letting him slide down to his own feet. She didn't let go. Setik pushed himself savagely forward, despite there not being even an inch between them. He fastened himself upon her, his fiercely closed eyes soon buried into her neck, the same place where he flung his arms. If he had been younger, he'd have wrapped his legs around her waist.

Saavik's own face was next to his ear. Amanda could hear the low sounds, but not the actual words, which was how it should be. After a moment, Setik laid his head on her shoulder, so his low, "Where have you _been_?" was audible.

"Here," she answered, "always here, since I heard your call."

"I did not see you."

"You were asleep. T'Kel can tell you."

He burrowed again under her hair and into her neck, then peered through the dark chocolate strands at his sister who nodded ferociously that it was true.

Saavik's neck muffled his voice. "You didn't _stay_ , however. I woke up and you weren't _here_."

"No, I was not."

"But why not?"

Amanda could hear the unending depths in Saavik's voice. "Because I could no longer hide that you are my son. And I feared — yes, I said feared — that it would somehow harm your life, that it would change your future and take you away."

They were dark head to dark head and she turned to bury herself in his. "I was wrong."

He started to pull away, most likely to stare at her, but she kept him close. "I do that at times. I try not to and I especially try to never let it be with you or your sisters."

He said nothing and then did pull back. She let him go this time, only to see him stare at the floor. "Rather, though, Grandmother and Grandfather _did_ make you come back."

She grabbed him by the shoulders and by the sheer sense of her will, he peeked up. "No one _makes_ me do anything in regards to my family. I came here because I chose it. And I chose it before you awoke because you are mine — _mine_ , Setik. I _was_ coming here, even if I had to stay hidden as yours. _Contact_ , this is Saavik."

Spock's open communicator lay forgotten on the empty bed. "Captain?"

"Connect me to Transporter Room One and have them repeat their orders."

In a second, a woman's voice reported, "Our orders have been to keep a lock on the captain at all times for immediate beam out to specific coordinates in the _Enterprise_ 's Sickbay."

Saavik called out again, "Mr. Imre, repeat your orders."

"Yes, ma'am. The captain was returning to the _Enterprise_ as soon as she made certain the prisoner created no other plans nor had associates that would further harm her family. I have had command of this ship since she returned from the _Enterprise_ to allow her to leave at any moment."

Saavik raised her voice. "Mr. Tran!"

Amanda and everyone else waited to hear that Melbourne, Australian accent over the communicator. Instead, the Norse god, as Amanda continued to think of him, came through the archway from the hall. "Ma'am?"

"Repeat your orders since we have left this ship."

"I came back with a different team while my brother and Mr. Imre interrogated the prisoner. I put Security in the hallway and have scanned the different departments with Mr. Scott's help to make sure things were safe. We repeatedly scan the _Enterprise_ to secure the crew and the captain's family. You were coming back, so I needed to be ready to give my report here." At her gesture, he left for his post in the corridor.

Saavik ducked her head so she could look in Setik's face. "I was always coming to you. Always."

She pulled him in so they were forehead to forehead, and this time, they made no whispers because they spoke even more deeply through their bond and telepathy. At last, his hands went around her neck again, but without the tight fists. Saavik began slowly drawing her right hand down his face, helping with his controls, and for a second, they breathed together.

Amanda watched the two of them and remembered being the center of the universe. "It's a lovely phase."

Her son looked over the heads of his wife and son to her. "It is not a phase. A phase ends. This did not."

Amanda searched his eyes for the little boy that once looked at her the way Setik did with Saavik. And found him. She started to cross to him when Setik took a half-step back, but now he did it with closer to his old calm, the child who had equaled Solkar in his _kahs-wan_. Boy, not little boy, once more.

Saavik stood and held out two fingers to her husband. Her hand was low and Amanda couldn't think of why; it looked as if the Vulcan gesture was half-hearted and she knew that wasn't true.

Saavik asked, "What are your thoughts?"

It was said to Setik, only making things more confusing.

Spock held out two fingers as well, but not coming close to his wife's. "We leave it to your judgment."

The girls moved to the edge of the bed, poised, and focused on their brother.

" _Wa'tnai!_ " he called out.

Kirk gave a confused, "What—?"

Amanda didn't know if the captain didn't finish what he was saying or if she simply became too stunned to notice or to even translate the Vulcan word for _hands_. T'Kel and T'Pren flew off the medical bed as if catapulted. Each child stretched their hand flat and slipped it between their parents'. Once all three of the children were there, Spock and Saavik touched fingers overtop the small hands they now enclosed.

Even Sarek's eyes widened, Amanda saw.

She also saw her grandchildren shake off the last of the pall hanging over the family. So did their mother and father.

McCoy cleared his throat. "I don't suppose I'm out of the doghouse, am I? Boy, maybe you can tell me what I can do to make things right again?"

Setik frowned in confusion, not thought, Amanda grasped. "You could apologize to Father and not do it again."

"I won't, I promise. Spock, I really am sorry."

He glanced at his father and leaned towards Saavik. He didn't quite look at McCoy. "Did you mean it? …Is that how you think of all of us?"

The doctor insisted he didn't think that way at all. "How could I with all the proof that such a thing is wrong? It was stupid and something I said out of anger. No, listen, I don't care what Boma said, I wish I never said it. I regret it and it's not true."

He reflexively knelt on one knee and Setik frowned. Amanda bit back telling the doctor not to echo one of the last things Nachson did with her grandson.

"It's like your mom said. We make mistakes sometimes, we don't want to, but it happens. You believe us, don't you, Boy?"

Setik folded his hands behind his back. Based on what he said next, Amanda guessed he did it unconsciously, seeking strength in the gesture. "Mr. Spock said he forgave you. That is what I asked him. So has Father. He said you would not be in our lives if you were like Mr. Boma. And Mr. Nachson said my mother would kick you into a nebula if you weren't good people."

Saavik simply noted, "Quite true," while Amanda held in a snort. She heard Kirk doing the same next to her.

McCoy obviously didn't feel like laughing. "That's very kind of them. Don't you think so?" he asked hopefully.

Setik gave a half-hearted little nod, unsure. Too much of his foundation had been badly shaken. Like with his mother, he wanted to believe but didn't know. A sideways glance at T'Kel and T'Pren revealed they didn't know either.

Then, suddenly, the three of them unified in something. He came back to his mother, his voice as heavily serious as the looks the twins gave her. He gestured for her to come closer, so she lowered down to his eye level again.

"Mother, Father said the _Contact_ is concerned that Taushan Rhinar has damaged the ship in a way you have not found." She agreed and Amanda swore Saavik believed what she did: the children were asking about being left behind. They were wrong; it was worse. "Does this mean he has escaped again? He…might attempt to abduct T'Pren, T'Kel, and me another time?"

Saavik motioned the girls to join them before he finished. Spock took the other side of his children so they were nestled between their parents. "Rhinar is in custody," she reassured them. "He can never harm you again."

"Mother," T'Pren was shaken and trying to hide it, "what if one of the things he damaged is the brig and nobody knows it?"

Saavik signaled Kirk this time and asked him to contact Caleb Tran. He naturally agreed and used the computer so they had visual. "I thought of the same possibility," she calmed her children. "It is the reason he is instead imprisoned in the place we know he has not tampered with and is easily repurposed as a cell."

Kirk looked back curiously, but he grinned when he got it. Amanda saw that Sarek and Spock did too, and started feeling dim. It helped when she realized McCoy didn't get it either.

T'Kel leaned closer to the screen. "Is it — that is the cargo bay. Where Dr. McCoy found us!"

"Yes, it is," Saavik answered. She looked at their faces and not the screen. "Now it is his prison."

Spock pointed at the computer. "Can you see? Your mother has constructed a cell from the containers."

T'Pren became animated. "Like he did to us!"

"Yes," her father continued, "and have you noticed these?" He indicated small boxes surrounding the jail. "Force field emitters. He cannot transport out, use weapons on his cell, and cannot get past the barriers. I am certain your mother has another layer of security."

In answer, she called, "Mr. Caleb Tran. Provide a visual of your team."

The visual moved around picking up the four guards from around and above Rhinar. Kirk spoke in an aside to her, "You added full security cameras."

"In addition to the flight recorders, yes. For the reasons we saw today."

The younger Tran called out, "Hold on, _Enterprise_." He shifted the view to reveal the bound prisoner. "Sotraun and I built that cell under the captain's instructions. Rhinar's not breaking out, but even if he could think of a way, you can see his arms and legs are shackled. You can't even use a phaser on that metal in his cuffs."

Saavik signed off, but she still wasn't done.

"Commander Tran." Jaxon came back into the ward. "I did not allow you earlier to detail the guard in Sickbay."

He probably guessed who was being reassured with this report, although Amanda admitted to herself that she got a lot out of it too. Rhinar had made it to her cabin and almost took her and the girls. "Yes, ma'am. I have a guard in each room and one at each entrance. No one gets in without us clearing them. I'm personally making sure everyone here is safe."

He started for the hallway. Amanda began to say something, seeing her grandchildren frown as he left, when his captain stopped him. "Remain in the archway, Commander."

Tran noticed the children's eyes following him. Calmly, but still following him. "Good idea, ma'am. And it's my honor to take that position." He winked at the twins and talked as he had for their "speaking mightily" competition. He not only lowered his voice, but he spoke grandly, like the mythological figure Amanda called him. "For I am Jaxon, Aiden's son!"

"That is why he won the contest," T'Pren pointed out sagely.

* * *

(Note: the self-destruct sequence is a mixture of all the ones we've seen. ST III used the exact one from the series, but since Kirk had to use a retina scan to view the Genesis file, I added it here. I picked the retina scan to tie with the TOS Movies but also to show an evolution to the TNG's palm print. In my head, this would be the last time Starfleet didn't use palm prints. The same with having a third officer give their code. This would stop in TNG and forward, but, again, I wanted Saavik to tie in with her roots. TNG even changed some minor details between episodes, so I figured I had some leeway with mine.)


	32. Chapter 32

USS _Enterprise_ , Sickbay

Saavik had to wrap one arm around both girls to have a hand to take her son's chin. "Taushan Rhinar will never harm you again. I swear." Setik, T'Pren, and T'Kel pressed into her hands and Spock's, but nodded, secure again.

She rose to her feet and her shoulders came back within her uniform as she looked around the group. "How did I reveal myself?"

Amanda smiled at her beautifully. "You tried too hard. You refused to get near the younger Spock because you knew he could tell, but you had no reason to avoid him if you weren't his wife. So, it stood out. There were other things. Sarek told me than when you found out Setik was taken, your face went blank. A Vulcan would show a reaction that Spock's son was kidnapped, the way your science officer and engineer did. In fact, they would for any child. Unless she was a Vulcan who thought she'd give something away, like Setik being her son as well. And as for you and this Spock: you knew I would easily see the two of you were married in your gestures with each other. Especially if your bonding was strong, which it clearly is. Someone once described it as a palatable awareness of each other. At times orbiting stars, but never truly parted at all. Those vows are written that way for a reason. That's what you have. If I didn't see it, you knew Sarek would, and you were right. When you got close, physically or in working with each other, I saw it immediately."

Saavik looked to Sarek. "Is that how you knew, Father?"

He noted calmly, "That and more. Both you and Spock shielded your minds to completely block any broadcasting of a sense of each other. He would have a need to do so when he was with anyone from his own time, of course. If his wife was one of those who transported to the _Enterprise_ , he prevented the marital bond being revealed. We would not know she was his wife. However, if you were not his wife, you would not need to shield your mind at all. Or if every woman did so, you would not be prominent in following suit."

Saavik closed her eyes at the large mistake. "I should have had at least T'allendil do so and preferably taught Patrik, Stewart, and Gad."

"Yes. As Amanda has said, you knew I would sense both the bond between you and Spock, as well as you and the children. Therefore, the only logical reason for you shielding yourself, when no one else did, was Spock is your husband and the children are yours."

"We were not as clever as we thought." She looked to McCoy who once more knelt by Setik. "You said biology, although I still cannot see how."

He stood but hovered near the boy. "I saw in the children's tests that they're half-Vulcan. That meant their mother's half-Vulcan."

Amanda repeated that at a near shout. "You're _half_ -Vulcan?"

Saavik turned to her. "Yes, I am."

"Another half-Vulcan…"

Spock nodded as if his mother asked him something. "I once said Saavik brings out the hybrid in me. It is a closeness based on our innate understanding. Not only for the part of us that is Vulcan and not Vulcan, but the part of us that cannot be separated into halves or I would not be Spock and she would not be Saavik. It is an awareness and intimacy I have with no one else."

It would be, someone who walked the tightrope with him, and she thrilled that her son, at last, had that person in his life. "And half-human?"

Saavik watched her carefully. "No, Mother. I am not at all human."

Amanda brushed that off. "Then what?"

McCoy spoke up. "I'm not sure. I haven't seen those blood elements before, but I have a theory."

Saavik spoke quietly. "Let us leave it as a theory, Doctor."

But Sarek already thought about it; he clearly wasn't the only one who most likely deliberated over it since the bridge, but he said it first. "Spock, Taushan Rhinar spoke of five hundred and fifty-six Vulcans on a colony. He asked if you thought of them and he ventured your wife had. I could account for why that exact number would exist there."

 _He means the four ships we lost. The crews would roughly add up to that number._

Something clicked for Amanda. "A Klingon dance," she whispered. She caught Setik, T'Kel, and T'Pren staring at her. "That's not Klingon."

"Hold on," Kirk jumped in, all starship captain. "Are you saying… Saavik is a–"

She answered him. "I am Vulcan, as you well know. By blood and by choice."

"However," Sarek began again, "our people whom we thought—"

"Father, Mother," Spock said. He moved to touch Saavik's side with his and put a possessive hand on the small of her back. "I should not interrupt, but I will. Assume your speculations are correct. Look at your daughter. Look at your grandchildren. Is there an issue? If nothing else, can you not trust your future selves who have demonstrated they have none?"

Amanda saw those three small faces and the one adult waiting and – tell her it wasn't true – braced for another blow following McCoy's earlier rejection… _her_ grandchildren. _Her_ daughter.

She knew one thing, a thing as certain as her own name. All her names. If Saavik was a danger in any way to Spock because of her other half, Amanda would never let the woman anywhere near her son. It wouldn't matter what he said or did.

And…

…and she wanted to avoid what happened with their Spock.

She held her arms out to the girls and Setik. She kissed each head, shushing any possible protest about _I am too old (or Vulcan) for this, Grandmother_ and then looked over her shoulder to her husband. _Sarek_ , she said in thought, followed by his _ahtía_ name. She touched her hand to his and everything passed between them in a moment.

He nodded in understanding of her thoughts. She half paid attention to the answer she knew he would give — _no, there is none_. If for no other reason than trusting their future selves, as their son said, who not only accepted Saavik as Spock's wife but approved. And not only that, they _welcomed_ her; she meant something to _them_ , not just because of their son.

Amanda looked now at the other woman who still watched her as it fell into place.

Her unique son found a unique wife who understood him the way no one else could. Saavik didn't follow the path Amanda, a human with a Vulcan mate, or even Spock, the first Vulcan-Human cross, blazoned before her. She broke new ground, as they had.

No wonder, Amanda thought, she and Sarek not only accepted the woman Spock married – they'd do that for whomever it was if she didn't hurt him. No, Vulcan's language had got it right. Saavik was _daughter_ , not daughter-in-law.

Amanda spoke in wonder and love. "He did marry someone like me, after all."

She sensed the reactions to that and caught her son's thoughtful look as he realized it himself, as well as Kirk and McCoy's surprise.

"You honor me," Saavik told her before a decision crossed her features and she made the few steps to stand in front of Sarek. "Father, we are not reticent people. So, I tell you, we had issues with each other. They were legitimate on both sides. Mother, in fact, once nearly ended our association over it."

"No!" Amanda shouted. How _could_ she?!

Saavik could put a lot into her eyes too. Now, she eased that horror. "It was justified and answered with Father's help." Amanda touched her husband's hand for security as Saavik spoke to him again. "Our own issues resolved themselves when we learned we have the same priority."

 _What is that?_ Amanda wondered. Sarek's head had lifted as Saavik spoke, but at this, his lips parted before he nodded. He understood her; she had surprised him, but he understood.

"They who mean the most to us in all the worlds," she continued. "We learned as well we would both do the same for them, in all circumstances, which meant you saw that by my faith, I would remove myself – by whatever means required – rather than bring them harm. I am under no illusions regarding myself. I would not miss it if I was detrimental. It was from there that we began."

 _That 'they'. She means Spock and I_ , Amanda realized a moment earlier. Her head swept up to watch Sarek. Sarek, who Saavik said had the same primary drive.

He drank all this in before his brown eyes met hers. " _Yi pafarmah, ko-fu._ " _Then welcome, daughter_. Saavik began to turn from him when he said, "Despite how anything may appear, they _are_ first in all the worlds."

"Yes, they are," she agreed.

"And now, so are the children."

They shared something unspoken, something more powerful than her simple, "And now the children."

Saavik left him to move to Kirk. "Captain."

He settled in his stance, maybe to equal hers, maybe to ease his back. "One question. Does Starfleet know?"

"Yes," she answered evenly. "I have never hidden who I am. The colony is classified both by the Federation and Vulcan. An exclusive few in Starfleet know of its existence including Admiral Nogura, and I have trusted Dr. McCoy and you with all its details."

His unyielding mantle of command eased. "Thank you, that means a great deal to me. You must know how much. As far as my official capacity… I had to ask."

"Yes, you did. It is why I created the opportunity for you to do so."

He needed to finish business first, but his eyes danced at what she said. "It means Starfleet vetted you when you entered the Academy and when they gave you your captaincy. Just as important," his teeth flashed now, "it means Nogura and I knew when we put those commendations on your record. I said it earlier, I can't ignore that, can I?"

T'Kel took a step in line with him and her mother and waited for Kirk to notice. He did quickly. "I also said I think highly of all of you and I meant it." He put his hand a distance above his head. "The highest."

All three children repeated the gesture solemnly as if it were a sacred salute. In its way, it was. He looked back at Saavik. "I trust my future self and I especially trust my current self. I know who the person is I've seen today. Captain."

Spock could be quiet no longer. "As have the Vulcan High Council and Command."

Kirk raised a hand in a _There you go_. "That's right. I can't argue with T'Pau. I said she was all of Vulcan in one package. She performed your wedding?" Both Spock and Saavik gave him a look. "Right, I can't know."

Unexpectedly, Saavik told him, "She performed the betrothal. The priestess T'Lar officiated at our wedding."

Like an old adage, Amanda felt her eyes grow enormous and her mouth open. _T'Lar?!_

T'Pren chirped brightly, "She named Mother as Guardian, not just of Father, but Vulcan, and Father -"

Amanda wasn't the only floored by the significant name, Sarek did too. Her head turned to him and she saw McCoy and Kirk only idly curious. _They do not know the wedding ceremony._ Sadness about that day with T'Pring gained another level that Spock's friends had no idea what was meant to happen.

But they would, she reminded herself. _When they see Saavik and Spock's_. Then they'd learn what she did: naming the wife as Guardian did not happen regularly. It wasn't part of the ceremony. The high priestess meant it for these two alone: Amanda's children.

What had Spock and Saavik become in the future that warranted T'Lar's attention? And this naming them as her champions for Vulcan?

Spock abruptly caught both parents concentrating on him and he gave a tiny shake of his head. _Do not be concerned._

Saavik, however, thought that was enough as she scooted T'Pren the town crier to her father to be affectionately muzzled as she returned to McCoy.

"Do we have an issue, Doctor?"

He waved his hands hastily. "I don't have a problem with anybody! In fact," he seemed to second guess himself and then plunged ahead, "do we still have to hide the word everybody's dancing around? You're—"

"We are part Romulan," came Setik's calm and determined voice. His sisters stayed to his sides, including T'Pren who went back at this. That was when Amanda realized they had moved away from her to stand by themselves. His head was high. "My mother's one parent is a Romulan, and not like the way my grandfather and grandmother met and had my father."

McCoy looked back at that small chin lifted in the air, T'Kel's planted feet, and T'Pren's watching him from the tops of her eyes. "You know what that makes you?" he asked at last.

The boy put it back on him. "Yes?"

"Something special. But we already knew that."

Saavik kept her eyes on her son during this, not the doctor. She began to say something, but in the end held out a hand. He pushed his fingertips to it in a filial gesture.

Then she changed the focus away again from the touchy subject. She returned to McCoy. "My being Vulcan is not enough to deduce I am married to Spock. T'allendil came here and I have one hundred and fifty-nine more Vulcan females on the ship. It had to be something in addition."

"Ah!" he said excitedly and with a small amount of relief. "Yes, it was. I noticed a few little things, before and after you came on board, like the cursing. The children said they weren't allowed to curse, not even like Mother. A Vulcan that curses like you did on the bridge – that's got to be a short list. But what clinched it for me were a couple things. First, when you called to say you had to stay with your ship."

Saavik looked quizzical. "I do not see how that would reveal who I was."

"It didn't. It wasn't you, it was him." He jerked his head at Spock. "A different kind of biology – and chemistry. Both Spocks had that same majorly attracted look. The younger one also called you impressive, twice. Just thought you'd like to know."

Her eyebrows reached her hairline.

"But speaking as someone who's been a husband, there's a difference in how we look at someone and think, 'Look at this impressive woman' and being the lucky bastard who looks at her and thinks, 'Look at this impressive woman that I get to call _mine_.' That's how he looked at you."

Amanda was so glued to watching what happened in front of her, she jumped a little when Sarek's two fingers appeared in front of her. Her head spun in his direction and he gave her _that_ look. She smiled tenderly and touched his fingers in a gentle and sweet kiss.

She wasn't the only astounded wife in the room. Saavik's head swung to Spock at McCoy's words. "Truly?"

"Yes," he answered simply. "Do you doubt my having such thoughts? My younger self also has a message for you. 'I anticipate the day when I will know.' You needn't look so surprised, my wife. He will ask you to marry him, after all." He held out paired fingers.

She grew lustrous under his eyes and slid her fingers down his.

McCoy gave a small cough. "Anyway, he also pointed out how you looked in that uniform. I can count on one hand how many times he's done that in general and you're the only one he did it with today. And! One of the big things. What's that phrase you used? Ambassador Sarek, you used it as well, when you introduced Amanda when you came on board."

Sarek gave his son a knowing look. "I know to what you refer, Doctor. We also noticed his use of it. 'May I present she who is my wife.'"

"That's it!"

Spock and Saavik exchanged blank stares. "Why would I not say it?" he asked. "I could, at last, do so when Saavik beamed to Sickbay. It was… important." He sounded hurt, and Saavik drew closer to him.

His father's expression held a warm light. "Vitally important. Something we believed we would not have the good fortune to hear. That importance and the possibility of not being able to say it led you to use the phrase as closely as you could when introducing Saavik to your mother and I."

Amanda's expression was equally warm and more teasing than Sarek's. "You couldn't help yourself, which is charming. If you had introduced her the way you did with everyone else, it would have been, 'This is Captain Saavik'. Instead." She turned to her husband.

Sarek walked the couple steps to their son as he repeated. "'May I present Saavik, she is...'" He was face to face with Spock. "We both noticed it and appreciated your doing so." He turned to his new daughter. "Although we prefer our full hearing of the true phrase."

T'Kel commented, "Father, you made a large mistake!"

McCoy nodded in emphasis. "Yes, he did, Miss. That reminds me, there's something else. Something about your biology, what was it?" His eyes darted to Amanda, T'Kel, and back. He winked.

Amanda pushed the urge to smile down and instead echoed his thoughtful search for words. "I think I understand, Doctor. I noticed it too. It would have to do with you, naturally, Saavik."

Saavik's and T'Kel's heads tilted to the side and at the same time, they said, "Naturally."

Amanda walked to the other woman and gently set her head straight. "T'Kel is _you_ , dear. Sarek told me Spock called her an exceptional re-creation of her mother. He's quite correct, and it's easy to see that's you. Although I'm still right about the imperious streak she gets from Sarek's family. She didn't just get her great-grandmother's name."

Sarek protested as a son should, "Amanda!"

She continued with what she was saying. "Setik does this gesture with his head too and the other one you make where you tilt your head back. I could go on, but point made."

McCoy slipped back into the discussion. "Right, because let's not forget how Spock also got territorial when Jim was flirting. By the way, Jim, nice job going after Spock's wife."

Spock lifted an eyebrow and Kirk shifted uncomfortably. Worse, the kids glared even as Saavik wondered how she missed what he was doing.

The doctor finished, "I'd pat you on the back if you weren't over there – on the other side of Spock's _parents_."

Amanda put a hand over her mouth to cover the smile. She gave a tiny shake of her head at Sarek to not interfere.

"I wouldn't call it going after – just appreciation of—" Kirk broke the floundering attempt off and protested to Saavik, "You said you didn't have a husband!"

Her eyebrows lifted. "I did not mean to miscommunicate. Rhinar stated – and I concurred – that I do not have one left behind on Vulcan or in Starfleet because of the time travel. That is true. I do not as Spock is here."

He blurted, "I thought — the children are only two years apart—!"

Amanda had to put a hand on Sarek's shoulder now, and she thoroughly enjoyed Kirk's expression when he suddenly realized he stepped in it with all the Vulcans and her there. She was so happy to see Saavik giving him as wry a look, not insulted, as she did.

"I just thought, Spock — with how you and T'Pring were…it didn't seem like something that would happen."

Saavik inadvertently saved him as she had McCoy. "You did not think Spock was married to me. You expected someone else?" He nodded and she looked like she cursed to herself. "We revealed the future."

His agitation ebbed away and he could smile now. "It's all right. I was keeping it a secret anyway."

McCoy cleared his throat. "While I'm on the bad list already, I'll confess to something else." Setik moved against Saavik's side at that. "I already knew you were their mother by the time we got the boy back, but…"

"Yes?" she warned.

"You left some blood on his clothes and I ran a DNA test. Hold on!" He said it to the room in general because more than Saavik protested. "Nobody else saw it, and the results and samples are gone. Just remember that I didn't do it out of curiosity. The boy isn't Spock's and Sarek's blood type. I wanted to make sure he's _your_ blood type in case he needed a donation."

Saavik's eyes narrowed. "He was not bleeding."

"How was I supposed to know that from the condition he came in?" the doctor shouted. "I made sure my patient had everything he needed no matter what we found! Frances didn't even know I did the test let alone Chapel or any of the other medical staff!"

Saavik put an arm around Setik while looking at Spock who nodded. "Agreed," she said to McCoy and Kirk let that be an answer to his own protest. Mother and father silently searched their children, wondering – Amanda thought — if the news of Setik's injuries had upset them and whether they had picked up on Saavik having been injured herself.

But T'Pren suddenly said, "Why do some offworlders comment on our age difference?" She must have been holding that in since Kirk's outburst. "We are not the only Vulcan siblings with two years between us."

Spock demanded, "Who has said this to you?" Kirk squirmed.

"Dr. McCoy has. But he doesn't say it like it other people do. He smiles when he says it, like when he says Setik has his eyes. Other people say, 'I just don't get it.'"

McCoy cleared his throat under the weight of all the sharp stares. "I take it I get in trouble a lot."

Saavik minutely nodded. "You have been banned from the house on occasion. Setik always insists on your being brought back." She kept that arm around her son's shoulders. "Is that not true?"

He hesitantly eyed McCoy who looked back, waiting and wisely not pushing it.

Spock unexpectedly took hold of his wife so he could examine her. "Saavik, I have not heard you say if all your wounds were healed. Were there residual effects? Should you be standing?"

She gave him a spousal look that questioned his sanity and gave a subtle indication in Setik's direction. She was right; her son blindly took off, grabbed a Feinberger off a tray, and shoved it into McCoy's hand. He then pulled the man closer and aimed the scanner at his mother.

"Of course," Amanda said to herself. This must be how it began. If Mother made the world go round and she lived a dangerous life with injuries, a doctor would be a wonderful presence. When Mother was hurt, the great McCoy came in to save the day and put the world back on its axis.

It made Setik go on automatics: Saavik had been injured, so he got his role model to _have him fix Mother_. He had his hands around that one of McCoy's and started the small scanner. The doctor squatted down to be in easier reach and the boy turned to look at him to see what the Feinberger told him. Realization broke through and Setik stared.

McCoy put on a false smile. "Sure, let's check on her. Make sure everything's all right."

Spock spoke. "Setik, I am reminded of your statement to Adelek that he needed to forgive. Do you agree?"

His son regarded the man next to him while he thought. He came out of it carrying his seven years as he had before this day. "I do, Father." He stepped closer to McCoy. "I do always insist you be allowed in the house again."

The man that Amanda swore was the boy's Sa-mekh-rá sagged in relief. "That's good to know, boy. _Really_ good to know. By the way, your mom's fine."

On an impulse, he tousled Setik's hair. He got a quiet _humph_ in reply as the boy put his hair back.

T'Kel piped in, "Why _does_ Dr. McCoy say Setik has his eyes?"

Saavik gave the doctor a hard look. "He believes he is being humorous. T'Pren, to answer your original question, we will discuss the full answer when you are older."

"Oh. One of _those_."

Amanda's eyes sparkled as she watched Spock. Her once lonely son here, enjoying his family. She had said his heart was in his three children and his wife; she was right. So much so, he found it vitally important for his mother and father be introduced to his wife even when he couldn't say that's who she was. That he saw them welcome her and their children despite a darkness in Saavik's one half.

After T'Pring and with all that happened in the past eighteen years, Amanda hadn't been sure she'd get this chance to stand here and watch her family. Watch her child's family.

An air of awareness came over her daughter and the dark eyes found her. When Amanda spoke, she couldn't sound happier, but also with a tinge of awe. Their words on the bridge had been amazing and important in their own right. So were the ones they shared when Amanda couldn't see Saavik, only hear the ever-changing speech pattern on the other end.

But now.

She spoke with all of that in her voice. "I'm so pleased we're meeting at last. I've been hoping we would."

Saavik answered her in the same vein. "That is the exact statement you made the other time we first met."

Amanda looked back, clearly wondering something. With a soft smile, she asked, "Have I given it to you already or am I making you wait? I know you can't wear it with the V-neck, but do you have it?"

If she loved Saavik the way she believed she did, she'd make an outward sign of it. They had already discussed this when they spoke earlier and Amanda couldn't see her. She might not have done this and instead did something else, but she wanted to know.

Kirk and McCoy looked curious, but her family didn't. Saavik reached inside her collar and took out a necklace and pendant she wore. She laid it on top of her uniform.

Amanda laid her fingers gently on it. The original flower on the pendant had worn away almost completely over the years. "I'm glad." She reached inside her dress and withdrew the same necklace she would give Saavik someday, just as her mother gave it to her. "I never thought I'd be wearing it and seeing it on my daughter at the same time."

She took the pendant that Saavik wore in between her thumb and forefinger, softly rubbing it. "And someday, it will be T'Kel's."

Saavik's dark eyes turned into bottomless pools. "And someday, it will be T'Kel's."

"I'm glad I didn't make you wait until I was gone. Do the same thing for her." Amanda tapped the pendant against that green uniform. "No need to rush it, though. I like you having it." She looked to the back of the chain. "What is this?"

"As you mentioned, I had to secure it out of sight due to the exposed V-neck in the uniform. That is a temporary extension to give the chain enough length so I may then clip it out of the neckline."

"You did all that instead of taking it off?"

"Of course."

Amanda's smile beamed at Saavik. "I said it earlier, but I adore you already."

"Mother? One word."

"One—" A well of warmth came over her. "Yes, a very important word. _Presume_. Don't forget it."

"Nor you."

Amanda thought she felt tears forming and just looked up into that face for a beat as the dark eyes shone back. Her expression lit up with a beautiful smile. "We're fun together, aren't we?"

Saavik reflected the same warmth. "Yes, we are." Her eyes darted to Sarek and glinted. "Although Father once said he used to be able to meditate in his own home before you and I met."

Sarek closed his eyes as if imagining the chaos his house would become.

Amanda gazed affectionately at her husband. "Like you would change any of it," she declared happily. She turned back. "So, you know my ways?"

Saavik met her gaze with one that spoke of so many times to come. "Amanda Grayson. Lady Amanda. _T'Sai_ Amanda. Amanda of Vulcan. Daughter of Margaret, daughter of Catherine. _I know you_."

"Have you called me all those names?" Was that the woman she saw reflected in Saavik's eyes too? She understood why Spock questioned how he could become that person standing in front of him. Amanda wondered how she'd be the woman in her children's eyes, but she knew she'd get there. She got this far, after all.

"Yes. I have been that fortunate."

Amanda played with the necklace pendant. "And my favorite?"

"Your favorite. Mother."

Before, she recognized what set Saavik wonderfully apart. Now Amanda recognized the kindred spirit: the women who grabbed the opportunity for the lives they led, built them, and made them their own. The outsiders who welcomed coming inside. A human and another half-Vulcan, one as unique as Spock while also uniquely unlike him: redefining _of Vulcan_ on their own terms like no one else had done.

Something, some wall in Saavik's eyes dropped, and Amanda saw every battle her daughter had both lost and won, every dream and every hope shattered or built, and the striving and fire that ever was inside of her. Saavik was her own success. One whose state was not determined from where or who she was, but what she made herself to be.

Saavik knew very well what she had revealed. She whispered, "Lady is not a title. It is a state of being. Something you gave me."

The tears made that face waiver so Amanda blinked harder. "That is beautiful."

"Your son said it. He was correct."

Like a Vulcan, Amanda lifted her hand and hovered over Saavik's right cheek before laying it there. Even without psi abilities, she felt an amazing level of powerful energy that meant _life_ and _this is who I am_. "Someone like me, after all," she repeated. "I will be right too when I say this in the future. You are _extraordinary_. And since you know my ways, I can do this." She meant the hand laying like a Vulcan's on the one side of her daughter's face as well as what she did next: reach up to kiss Saavik's other cheek.

Saavik took her time lifting her head back up. "Always, Mother."

Amanda patted that cheek. "Still the woman who gave the family two girls."

Spock flipped up an eyebrow. "I must point out it is the father who determines the child's gender."

T'Pren added, "And T'Kel and I were the ones who decided to separate into two girls, not stay as one."

Amanda hid her laughter and instead leaned her head conspiratorially. "It's like that first dinner where you meet the family after the betrothal announcement. How about that night?"

Saavik sighted out the corner of her eye, returning the conspiracy. Amanda allowed a smile if not the laughter. She touched the necklace hanging from her daughter's neck one more time and stepped back.

Setik spun to Saavik. "Mother, Grandmother spoke of family. Mr. Spock came to see me." When she didn't seem to get the impact of that, he added, "Out of his own _choice_."

She still spoke idly, "A true kindness then."

"Mother," T'Kel insisted, "you miss the _point_."

T'Pren said, "Now we will be _born_."

Saavik frowned. "Was that in question? You do see each other, do you not?"

"Yes," T'Pren maintained, "but we could have been born for the wrong _reason_."

Setik added, "Obligation, Mother."

Her frown cleared. "That was never a possibility."

"It was," T'Kel contended.

"No," Saavik replied easily.

Setik said, "Father would have explained how you must marry him to protect time."

"No."

Spock lifted an eyebrow. "I would not propose under those circumstances."

Saavik said, "And I would not accept."

T'Pren insisted, obviously not pleased about their theory being disregarded. "Some say that Grandfather arranged your marriage for political reasons. It could have been like that."

Amanda nearly shouted again. "What?!" She couldn't even take in everyone else's stunned faces and that included her husband.

Saavik, on the other hand, was quite calm. "Do people still claim that? Odd."

Spock also spoke evenly to his children. "There is only one scenario that creates this family. It is the one your mother and I explained to you earlier today. As you noted, my younger self is already embracing this choice rather than holding to a negative obligation."

T'Kel maintained with a scowl, "He nearly did not."

Saavik frowned and shared a look with her husband. She reached out to bring the children closer. "We are explaining this poorly. The fact that the three of you have always remained in existence today with your – and our — memories intact has always meant one answer: your father's younger self was always keeping his path to me and I to him in the way it has already happened for us. His protests today are like my own in years before."

"And that is," Spock said, "of our past. You might take your mother and I's word for it. We were the ones who planned for you to be born."

"And gave birth to you," Saavik said to them significantly. "I do remember that quite clearly. More than you."

The children congratulated each other on this with an intense, shared, "We're going to be born. The _right_ way!"

Amanda swallowed against a growing lump in her throat. "So did Sarek… arrange your marriage or not?"

Saavik's head tilted towards her shoulder as she stood. Amanda didn't know why she was so worried. She knew many people – Vulcans and not – in happy, loving arranged marriages. If Spock's was as well—

She remembered what she had just thought: Spock's heart was in his family and the bond between he and Saavik was so strong, it was palpable in the air.

What had he said to his younger self when asked if Saavik was his choice? _"She is. She is t'hyla."_

 _That is all I need to know._

Meanwhile, Saavik's forehead scrunched in thought. "No, it could never qualify as arranged. We married because it was what we wished, as we have said."

Spock nodded, before singling his mother out with a pointed glance. "However, I will say that Father speaking to us was because you ordered it."

"Ordered it? Me?!"

Saavik drew it out dryly. "Ordered it. You."

Spock lifted an eyebrow. "I quote, 'Sarek, could you grab Spock and Saavik by the back of their necks and _shake_ them at some point?'"

Saavik picked up it smoothly. "'This dance they're doing _around_ each other instead of _to_ each other is infuriating.'"

He continued. "'If they're still clueless about how the other feels—"

"'—give them a little push.'"

"'Wake them up.'"

Saavik punctuated the next three words. "'The two idiots.'"

Spock finished. It was only right that he'd be the one to do it. "'I adore them, but _honestly_.'"

Amanda had begun to feel like she was at a sport's match, but appreciated why they said it that way. She ended up facing her son who lifted the eyebrow higher. She burst out laughing. "Oh, you were like that! Blind to each other! Well, then you were idiots. Sounds like you did take much too long about the whole thing, Spock."

When it finally happened, it was a woman who had been for so long, patiently waiting, even if she was unaware she _was_ waiting, because she stayed oblivious he waited for her. Until Amanda through Sarek let them in on a secret: that person you want more than anyone wants you.

"Did I say anything else? I hope I did."

Saavik could apparently put all her focus into a look that grabbed. "You told me of your own wedding day."

Both Amanda and Sarek snapped to. She wondered what could have said about her first _pon farr_ with him. "I did?"

"Yes." Saavik's voice grew gentle as she recited, "'How did I ever get here? Who would have thought it? Not me. I waited for the sound of that gong as people are whispering to me all the things I had to do. I couldn't believe I was about to walk to Sarek. Someday it will be your turn, Saavik. Someone's going to stop your solitary headlong dash and make you understand why people make this commitment. As Sarek did for me."

Saavik paused only for her parents to absorb it while Spock cleared his throat at such a private insight into his mother and father's marriage.

An unexpected voice piped up: T'Pren. "Dr. McCoy agreed, Grandmother. He said it was about time Mother and Father made honest Vulcans of each other… Mother, what is it? I thought you would want to know he said it."

"Uh," McCoy looked around the room full of Vulcans, "what if I say I'm sorry now for all the things I'll do some day?"

"That," Spock came back, "would be an amazingly large apology, Doctor."

Someone came into the ward as McCoy mumbled he liked it better when Jim was in trouble, causing Kirk to give him a superior look. Amanda couldn't see who entered the room, as Spock asked her if he and Saavik had answered the question or was his mother still concerned?

The 'someone' ended up being Frances Stewart who heard the end of the sentence and quickly asked Amanda, "Concerned about what? Setik? He's perfectly fine, ma'am. So is Saavik, I have the report right here. Would you feel better if Dr. McCoy went through it?"

T'Pren jumped in, maybe trying to make up for jumping in before. "That is not it, Doctor. They are talking about Mother and Father getting married."

"Oh!" Stewart's whole demeanor changed from the professional medical officer to a thrilled young woman. She dropped her tricorder on a bed without even looking at it, McCoy scooping it up out of habit, as she excitedly told Amanda, "One of the most _romantic_ weddings I've ever been to! I couldn't believe it, it was just incredible!"

"It was?" was all Kirk could manage.

"I cried like an idiot," she said to him, oblivious to anyone's surprise. She used her hands to emphasize what she said. "I probably embarrassed the entire human species by crying so much. But how can you not?" She said that to Amanda. "You know what I mean. When she came out and just – _found_ his eyes – and never once looked anywhere but at him—!"

Saavik began to do the Vulcan equivalent of squirming, her clear sense of privacy not liking things brought out into the spotlight. Spock whispered to her, no doubt reminding her that everyone was there to see it, so nothing private was being revealed. At least, Amanda imagined that was what he said.

" _And_ ," Stewart said, "when they did the cup ritual and he turned the cup so his lips touched were hers had been—!"

"You did _that_?!" McCoy burst out.

Spock, to everyone's surprise except Saavik, replied calmly. "I did. Dr. Stewart does not lie."

"Oh, it's not a lie," she finished.

"I do think it is enough, however."

The firm order came from, not so surprisingly, Setik. His arms crossed his chest, his eyebrows paralleled each other in a scowl, and his feet stood apart in a wide, commanding stance. He looked adorable, but everyone wisely refrained from saying so.

Frances reigned in her smile to answer him. "Sorry, Setik. Didn't see you there." _Prude_ , she mouthed at Leonard McCoy and jerked her head at the boy.

Sulu on the bridge interrupted. "Sir," that meant his captain, "the _Contact_ has signaled she is dropping out of warp." Something that had already happened for people to beam over.

McCoy whispered to Stewart, "Frances?" He held up the tricorder she'd dropped on the bed. "This internal scarring-!"

Kirk eyeballed Saavik who replied, "We are going to impulse engines due to necessary functions we must complete before Babel."

Stewart whispered back to the other doctor, "I'll tell you what you told me, Len, when I first saw the scarring in her records. Remember it happened a long time ago, it doesn't bother her, and put it out of your mind until the next time you have to run a scan on her or you won't sleep tonight."

Kirk mulled over what Saavik had said, so he missed this exchange. Amanda hadn't and worried about her son's wife. "Sulu, take us out of warp with them."

"Aye— sir! The _Contact_ is separating!"

* * *

McCoy's line about "honest Vulcans" is from Susan Shwartz, co-author of Vulcan's Heart. She said McCoy would describe it as "About time they made honest Vulcans of each other!"


	33. Chapter 33

USS _Enterprise_ , Sickbay

Kirk snapped around to Saavik. "Separating?" Immediately, he understood without her saying anything. "To keep everyone here that—" He caught the children watching. "—aren't needed for going to warp."

She agreed. "If it becomes necessary, you must return to them after the Babel mission. You understand." He barely finished agreeing with a nod when she had to bring the moment down more. "I am having Tran and Stewart return to my ship unless Doctor McCoy requires her further?"

He reluctantly said no and looked at his new friend. "I guess this is goodbye then, Frances."

"Not yet," she said to him and handed him a padd that made him frown more as he read.

"Right, of course."

Amanda decided thanking Stewart – in helping to rescue Setik and critically aiding in his recovery — was the best thing to do now before the young woman left, and especially since it led to something other than the somber note hanging over them.

Frances took her thanks graciously on behalf of herself and the others on the team. "It was our pleasure. They'd say the same thing."

"Yes," Amanda said softly. "The others." She looked to Saavik. "Can we really not see them?"

"I would prefer we reveal nothing further, especially information as significant as new lifeforms."

"These people saved our grandson." She glanced up to Sarek to see if he agreed.

He did. "No one else on this team is human?"

"One is, yes. However, there is a reason why you have not met him, despite his being human." Amanda stood firm. "Mother, they know you thank them without it being said."

Amanda pinned her down with a mother's glower and her daughter gave the equivalent of a Vulcan sigh.

 _Oh, good! I can still do that well!_

Even better, Saavik shot Spock a look that expected him to do something with his own mother. He astutely refused.

Calculations and plans connected and reconnected visibly in Saavik's head before she spoke.

"It would serve an additional purpose." She reached for the communicator. "Mr. Imre, transport to the _Enterprise_ 's Sickbay. You may give your report in person."

A rich, baritone voice answered, "Aye, Captain."

Amanda beat her to ending the conversation. "My husband and I wish to speak with you as well."

"Hot _damn_ ," he whispered fiercely and then hurriedly, "I am already there, ma'am."

He transported into the same spot Saavik had, with a proper uniform and padd which he handed to his captain. His disproportionately short upper arms and legs in comparison to his full-sized head, feet, prominent forehead, and not quite trident hands marked his dwarfism.

Saavik nodded to him. "My first officer, Commander Risteárd Imre. He is the one who found the shield frequency as well as attacking the force fields despite the harm to himself and enabling me to reach the shuttle's interior."

Amanda didn't blink or feel anything other than gratitude. Neither, of course, did Sarek although Kirk and McCoy looked a measure of surprise at the diminutive officer.

She crossed to him, her hands outstretched for his. Her experience recognized that she approached him, that she was beholden to him, so she knelt gracefully in front of him so she was on his level. "Thank you, I can't say it enough."

Sarek came up to a step behind her and knelt himself. "The family is in your debt. It is not a ritual statement but truly meant. When we can be of assistance, you must inform us or the children," indicating Spock and Saavik. "We naturally extend this to the other officers."

Imre bowed over Amanda's hands. "I come to serve." He stayed bowed with Sarek's, "Your service honors us," before he straightened.

She had heard that Rhinar called Nachson a Paladin. Imre, then, was Saavik's Musketeer.

Amanda kept their hands clasped. "If you're not already a guest in our home, we hope you will be soon and often. I wish we could tell the officers who were with you too, but I understand why we can't. You'll have to pass on our thanks and invitation for us."

"We are a happy menagerie on the _Contact_. All we need is a dragon." Imre smiled warmly. "They'll be delighted to hear what you've said."

He, at last, released her hands as Saavik lifted her eyebrows at him. "Am I correct, you said 'hot damn'?"

"With all due respect, Captain, you're one to talk. Besides, you know that when they call, I come running. Hello, Mr. Spock."

Spock returned the greeting with the same appreciation as his parents. Imre walked up to Kirk with his hand outstretched. "I know we had that clash earlier, sir, but I meant it when I said I respect you a great deal."

Kirk clasped that hand and shook it firmly. "I never hold someone doing their job against them. Especially when they do it as well as you do. Saavik and the _Contact_ are lucky to have you."

"Thank you, sir."

McCoy nodded at Setik and the girls who now came up to the officer they clearly knew. "I think you have a fan club."

Imre smiled brightly at them. "Hi, kids! I've been worried about you. Can I?" he asked Setik. The boy nodded and Imre clapped him on the shoulder as he looked almost eye to eye into the boy's face. "You know I'd do it again. So would Bimo and Ssaalz."

So, he _was_ a guest at their home. At least, he knew the family, Amanda saw.

The three young Vulcans had buoyed and Setik spoke first. "I did not know Ssaalz came with you."

"Oh yeah. She stood the best bet out of the medical department because of her size and strength. She did your triage and initial treatment inside the shuttle before turning you over to Dr. Stewart and Dr. McCoy. Well, your mother actually got to you first. She swooped you up in one arm and took care of the saboteur with the other. But Ssaalz was right there."

Setik's head swung sharply to Saavik and he held himself like he had never been hurt. He turned back to Imre to hear more, so he didn't see the last tension flow out of his mother as she and Spock pressed their hands together and swayed their balance ever so slightly towards each other. But Amanda did and the sight made her remember.

 _Oh yes._ They did dance together.

Saavik quietly moved back to keep the movement private. She held up the padd to Stewart. "Why is your name not on the list for the saucer crew?"

For the first time ever, Amanda saw the young doctor's temper. "Because I am not part of the saucer crew. They have Ssaalz—"

"That was a battle," Imre muttered.

"—and I'm going with you," Frances ended.

"Doctor—"

"No, Saavik."

"My orders are—"

"No, not again! I am _not_ having another captain send me away! Not this time!" Stewart shouted. She visibly got hold of herself in the next sentence. "I'm staying at my post."

Saavik searched that set expression. Unlike Frances, the Vulcan gave nothing away. She broke off the eye contact and made a rapid notation in the report.

"Uh, Frances?" McCoy glanced between the two women as if he gauged the sanity of putting himself anywhere near them. He handed back the padd as he eyeballed the children and coughed. "They just signaled. Everything's ready."

Nobody else got a chance to ask what that meant when the door to the hall opened and Tran's voice called from the archway, "We have a visitor out here."

Another voice called too. Sulu's. "Captain, Chekov and I would like to talk with you if it's all right."

Everyone in the ward looked at each other before Saavik gestured for Frances and Imre to follow her over to the far side of the room where the wall formed an angle. Kirk went to the archway to speak to his helmsman and navigator. Tran came in and formed a human wall to block sight of his captain and the others.

"Sir," Sulu explained, "we heard from the _Contact_ that they're taking Commander Nachson back."

 _That is what Frances and Leonard were discussing with that padd_ , Amanda realized. She began going to Setik but Spock moved in front of her to stand with his son.

"And?" Kirk prodded.

The two young men checked silently with each other before plunging ahead. "Captain," Sulu went on, "He died here on the _Enterprise_ after I promised him that we'd be there for him."

"But ve veren't, sir!" Chekov interrupted.

Sulu's stoic manner still showed how that bothered him. "We – everyone who was in the rec room— want to do something for him now. We're forming an honor guard from here to the transporter room. Like we would for one of us."

Amanda figured Saavik had planned to transport Nachson directly from the morgue to his ship, but she understood that Sulu and Chekov would think things would work the same as it did here.

Kirk gave the impression as if he thought about it when he glanced over his shoulder in Saavik's direction. "It's the right thought, Sulu. I'll talk to his captain, but I'm sure she'll approve. And that they'll send their own honor guard to escort him. Get your people together in the corridor and we'll let you know when they're bringing him out."

Saavik came out from the corner and nodded as Kirk spoke, "I thought you'd agree."

"I do. Mr. Tran." Her Security Chief came back in. "You heard. Form an honor guard. You know who is best to ask. Inform those such as Bimojigar and Ssaalz we respect their wish to be here and will attempt accommodating them once he is on the _Contact_."

Jaxon pulled his communicator and began to leave when she stopped him. But when Saavik turned to discuss what was on her mind, she went to Stewart, not Tran.

Frances interpreted that silent gaze better than Amanda could. "Captain, are you serious? Her people don't serve in Starfleet now."

"They are, however, well known as well as serving in the near future. With all we have revealed thus far, such an officer is a minor disclosure. More importantly, it is her right."

Stewart ruffled a hand through her hair. "You're right. She's getting torn up inside."

The lightbulb went off for Amanda. _His girlfriend!_ The poor thing. Frances was correct: the woman had to be so upset and being away made it worse.

Saavik told her communications officer to direct her to a private channel and then told that person to beam over. Yet again those coordinates were used and this time, the command gold dress was worn by an Andorian who Saavik introduced as her helmsman, Thalla sh'Shytral. The antennae wilted and her skin appeared a chalky pale blue.

Saavik explained about the honor guard and what was about to happen. "It is your place, Mr. sh'Shytral," she finished. "Join Tran and the others."

"Thank you, Captain." Thalla slowly started for the other room when she turned back around with a sad smile. And, Amanda could hear in the next words, a need to unburden herself. "Ma'am… He was supposed to be this fling. I mean, both of us — that's what we were. Have fun, enjoy ourselves, give my very traditional parents a little tweak. Before it was time to find the appropriate Andorian, settle down, have children - you know?

Saavik spoke gently. "Instead?"

Thalla's smile grew sadder and yet: "…Yeah. Instead. It turned serious. It surprised both of us." She gave a breath that served as a broken laugh. "So, we asked each other, is this what we want? We hadn't given our answers yet. I didn't even know what mine was. Until now." Her antennae sagged until nearly flat against her skull as her haunted eyes considered nowhere. "Ma'am, you knew him. Do you think…?"

Saavik answered with confidence. "I know two facts. He loved you and you were his last thought."

"Can you be sure?"

"Undoubtedly. I knew him. Take your place with him, Mr. sh'Shytral."

Thalla's eyes pulled back from the distance she had stared into since beaming over. "Thank you, ma'am." She dipped her head, antennae forward, but then asked before she left the room. "Do you want to see him, Captain?"

A different, unexpected voice answered: Setik. "I do." Saavik and Spock began to protest but he stayed firm. "Not only because he died for me, but because I need to speak over him. The way he would insist on speaking over me."

His parents went from him to each other before they silently agreed between them. They then tried to move the twins out, but they insisted for the same reason their brother gave. Amanda was so proud of them. What they were doing wasn't easy.

A Vulcan memorial or funeral emphasized the _katra_ for it was the person who left this present for the next stage of their evolution and future. But they did honor the physical vessel that had carried that _katra_ and meant so much to so many. So, it was that the Tran brothers, Thalla, Kamila Patrik, Stewart, and a lovely black woman with braids brought out Nachson with T'allendil, Sotraun, plus members of Tran's teams such as Christos, Trujillo, and Suhayl-Wajih in attendance behind them. Saavik gestured for them to lower the stretcher and uncover Kyle's face. Stewart had put his head and body straight from Rhinar's damage; the blanket still hid the disfiguring break and bruising.

Setik held his hand over that head as if he spread his own mental self over the man's empty vessel. He spoke traditionally over the body. "We talked."

T'Kel came forward as the next oldest. "We flew."

T'Pren followed. "We sang."

Imre moved forward with his own sad smile. "We were each other's legs."

Amanda moved up to the gurney, surprising everyone but the children. Jaxon and Caleb raised it back up to its regular height. She laid a hand on Nachson's, remembering how its former warmth had chased the cold and fear from hers and when it asked her to join him on the floor. "We danced."

She hoped they would again in the future.

Spock went next to last. "We knew I am Saavik's husband."

Amanda didn't understand until she remembered how she was Sarek's wife in the eyes of the universe and very few people had ever called him _her_ husband. But Kyle would see Spock as his captain's spouse and not the other way around. Something Spock felt himself.

All eyes went to Saavik. Saavik who went to Nachson and looked into those closed eyes as if they were open and looking back. She wore a sense of rightness for what she would say as she translated a quote from Vulcan. "We forged something which is seen only once in this life." Then, because he was human as her Vulcan words defined her, she wrapped her right arm around his head like a cradle and kissed his hair. She slowly stepped back and signaled to Thalla and the others.

They took their places around him and Jaxon spread the Federation flag over Nachson. Spock spoke before they lifted him. "Commander Tran, Starfleet now allows an officer to be buried with the flag of his world." He noticed Kirk's and the others' confusion. "It is placed inside as the Federation's covers the coffin."

Imre picked it up. "He's right. Put Vulcan's inside with Kyle."

Even Saavik looked puzzled. "For serving in Vulcan's forces?"

Spock's gaze softened. "My wife, Kyle Nachson had and served no world. What he had and served was you, and Vulcan is your flag."

Her eyes lowered as she thought over the truth in that; it made Amanda wish she had seen her daughter and Nachson together. Before Saavik could say anything, Thalla promised, "I'll see to it personally."

Stewart quickly said goodbye to Kirk who said he would miss her better drawl around Sickbay. She hurried to McCoy. "I'll see you in the future, Len. It's different, I'll miss this."

"Me too," he assured her.

Before he could say more, she declared, "You know what? Why not?" and kissed him. She broke it off and backed away. "I really wish one of us would remember that."

She rejoined Nachson's escort. They hefted the tactical officer on their shoulders and left Sickbay. At the sound of the door opening, Amanda heard Sulu call, "Honors... hup!" and everyone in the corridor snapped to attention. She could only see him, Chekov, and Scott since they were right at the door. The rest were around the bend, lining the corridors to the transporter room. She envisioned the ones she knew would be there: Jennifer Lee, the man who owned the guitar, Lieutenant Uhura, the officers who compared stories with Nachson of the places they've been to, Csala might even be there.

A pall of silence laid over them and Saavik started to break it when the chief engineer came in the ward.

Imre was caught and Amanda saw Saavik surreptitiously speak into the communicator. Probably bringing other women around who could be Spock's wife who beamed in. Women did suddenly seem to stay just out of sight at the doorway. Scott, however, didn't care about any of that.

He came up to Kirk excitedly. "Captain, I'm sorry about barging in, but I figure the other ship will be leaving soon and then it'll be too late."

Amanda didn't know why, but she announced, "The children are staying here." She watched that bloom over Scott's face and for the first time, her own heart took in the news. She was keeping her grandchildren, at least for a little while longer.

But she didn't look at their mother.

"I see!" Scotty thrilled. "Well then, Captain, we're probably doing this in the future already, but I've been thinking about Mr. Spock's older lass. The girl wants to join Starfleet and she's got dreams of building starships. So, I thought—"

Kirk started nodding from the engineer's second sentence. The gloom in the air was burned off by their excitement. "Scotty, I'm right with you. The _Enterprise_ is the flagship. _We_ sponsor her application to the Academy, _the_ captain and chief engineer in the fleet. Look at what that does for her record from the start!"

"Exactly, sir! Then the lass goes through her first two years as quick as a blink – it's not like they have something she won't already know – which puts the girl ready for ship assignment to finish her term."

Kirk gestured excitedly. "Which is when we both go back in there and make sure she comes to the _Enterprise_! They can't turn us down. She easily comes out of the Academy as a lieutenant j.g.—"

Scott interrupted in mock insult. "—as a Commander, sir! Aye, and with a book of designs for a new fleet!"

"—and now she's permanently assigned _here_! With _us_ on the _Enterprise_! At the same time," Kirk jerked a thumb at McCoy, "Bones sponsors Setik and then _he_ comes here too."

The doctor hustled over to them, just as eager. "I'm way ahead of both of you. The boy gets his medical degree, I sponsor him for that at my alma mater and Starfleet, then T'Kel—"

"Wait." Scotty looked deflated. "If the lad must get his medical degree, and he's only two years older, can they be there together? More importantly, can we get them both?"

All three men visibly fretted over that, but just as Saavik appeared ready to say something, McCoy clapped his hands, back to being excited. "I got it! The boy goes _early_ to medical school! He can definitely do it – I could turn Sickbay over to him now – and that puts him and T'Kel in Starfleet Academy together—!"

Kirk nearly whooped, "And then here! Meanwhile, _you_ ," he dropped in front of T'Pren, "are sponsored by your grandfather, where you take the diplomatic service by storm. Then you wave your hand in the air and _we_ ," he swooped her up and spun her around, his back apparently not a problem, "come in answer to your summons to take you where you are desperately needed to talk. The three of you are reunited," he plunked her down with her brother and sister, "and we are off to see the stars!" He finished with a swashbuckler's stance of his hands on his hips and a broad grin, the other two at his shoulders equally triumphant.

He then noticed Amanda and her Vulcans in a semi-circle behind the children. "Oh." He cleared his throat. "Listen, Spock, I'm sure you're planning to sponsor them, and your wife – and Captain Saavik is maybe thinking they'll come to the _Contact_ … but hear us out." The three men started gesturing again with Scotty and McCoy adding comments in between his statements. "This _is_ the flagship and that makes us… it's a lot of firepower to put behind them. That's not bragging, it's just… the way it is. And… it's not like we're taking your place. We're only… adding to it – for what's best for the children!"

Saavik deferred to Spock for all the obvious reasons and Amanda wondered why his voice held roughness when he finally answered. Although, his response sounded light. "Both I and my wife – as well as Captain Saavik – started on the _Enterprise_. We are aware of the advantages."

Scotty couldn't contain himself. "Then they'd be following in your footsteps here!"

"They would." The children beautifully kept quiet and simply looked up at their father, but Amanda caught her son gripping Setik's shoulder as he answered his captain. "If that is their future, we would all count ourselves fortunate."

The twins and Setik obediently nodded like bobbing dolls as the three men pounded each other's backs in celebration. Saavik moved as close as she could to Spock without making the engineer suspicious.

 _What is it?_ Amanda wanted to ask. Had something happened and the three men rescinded their offer in the future?

Scotty finally noticed Imre. He crossed over with the air of someone who is miles away on another topic. "I'm sorry for any rudeness. I just needed to settle this about the lass."

The other man shook his hand with a smile over the engineer taking his much shorter height in stride. "Commander Risteárd Imre, first officer of the _Contact_. It's a great thing that you're all offering to do."

Scotty's voice took on an edge. "Imre? You're another one who destroyed my shuttle." For the first time, he really seemed to notice Saavik, but as one of the people who battled on the _Copernicus_ versus someone who might want to sponsor T'Kel herself.

"Not me," Imre joked. He gave an over the top jerk of his head in Saavik's direction. "No, wait… I did help. So, guilty! I'd say I'm sorry, but—" He swept a hand towards the children.

Looking at T'Kel with her brother and sister focused Scotty on something else. "I wonder if we have any Academy applications in the computer."

When Kirk and McCoy immediately thrilled at that, Saavik seemingly decided on adding reason to their plans. "Gentlemen, the children are seven and five. Academy applications are unnecessary at this juncture."

"It's just to see what they put in them these days," the engineer fought against the letdown. "It couldn't hurt to check. And it might mean they get filed quicker when it is time. Don't you think so, Captain?" he asked Kirk.

But McCoy jumped to the front of the Cause first. "You couldn't be more right, Scotty. Saavik," he said in a tone she made clear she had heard many, many times already, "Scotty's got the right idea. Listen to him. So we fill them out now, so what?"

"We have moved to filling them out?"

"It means they get filed quicker! You want some admiral's idiot son to get all the attention at the Academy because his forms were filled out and filed when the kid was in diapers? Hey, that's a good point. Can you file ahead of time and they keep them until the kids are ready? Scotty, we should check that out."

"We'll use your office," Scott answered and they dashed off, McCoy calling back, "We'll let you know, Jim."

Kirk rubbed his hands together as he smiled at something unseen, like when the sensors picked up something new and thrilling ahead. Then, once more, he realized Amanda and her Vulcans stood there. He smiled, a bit embarrassed. "We're just excited."

"And we are honored," Spock finished.

Saavik bent down to the children, maybe the only one glad for the over excitement because it got Scott from the room. "Follow them so you may help by giving your information," she told her son and oldest daughter. They dashed off and she waved T'Pren after them. "There is an essay. Discuss the best answer with your sister. Dr. McCoy and Mr. Scott will help."

Now they were out of the room too. Amanda guessed they couldn't really fill out the applications; if nothing else, she would think too much of the forms needed information of the applicant's full life up to the Academy. But it made a pleasant diversion, and that was an excellent thing to have right now.

And no doubt McCoy and Scott would tell any naysayers they would fill out what they could now and update it over time. They probably would have too if-

Imre suddenly pulled a small phaser and aimed it at his captain's back before Amanda could grasp what was happening. His finger never had a chance to push the trigger because Saavik snatched it from his hand without even turning around.

McCoy cursed and Kirk was caught mid-lunge. Sarek put Amanda behind him as Spock moved to his wife.

Who clearly needed no help. Saavik calmly regarded her first officer. "Husband, it is all right. It is set for stun and the mutiny has honorable reasoning. Commander," she held up the phaser, "it was a good attempt."

Imre managed to focus only on her. Quite an achievement with the current people in the room believing him a traitor. "Captain, let me take the _Contact_. Stay _here_ with your family!"

Amanda and everyone else's stares grew and changed. No wonder Saavik insisted not to turn on the man.

She argued without raising her voice, "You know my duty forbids it, Commander."

Amanda wondered if it was too late to side with Imre. McCoy eyed a hypospray on a bedside tray, probably with a tranquilizer. Kirk appeared to understand the battle here: a captain's duty versus another shouldering it to keep a family intact.

If that was true, would Saavik listen to him?

Imre shouted, "It's not violating your duty to stay here! You're still taking care of the ship and your responsibilities because I will be there. I will have the conn. I can go, I have no one."

Her expression became gently chiding. "A falsehood. Your parents are close to you, you speak with each other weekly. You are preparing to ask Commander Ami Kanta to marry you, which is why I ordered you both to the saucer section. Did you honestly believe I did not know these things?"

"Captain!"

"Imre, this is not only about going back in time. It is convincing my barely younger self and Spock to undo this damage before it happens again. One of the ways that must transpire is through a meld. You cannot do this."

"But they could meld with me, Captain, or I will take a Vulcan with me! The important thing is, I was going to stun you so you stay safely here in case we did miss something of Rhinar's and the _Contact_ is destroyed!"

"Shoot her."


	34. Chapter 34

USS _Enterprise_ , Sickbay

Everybody swung their heads to stare at the small figure in the archway.

Saavik sounded as stunned as a Vulcan could. "T'Kel."

Her daughter's whole face was clenched in her desire not to cry. "Shoot her, Mr. Imre. So she stays."

Saavik decided not to point out Imre no longer had the phaser. In this delicate moment, she didn't want the child trying something dangerous like reaching for it. She walked over and leaned down, putting a hand on the black hair. "It is not that simple. I have a responsibility. It is my duty to go."

"Just one time, let it be someone else's duty!"

"If I let it be someone else, we do not go home. Do you think I would risk you?"

T'Kel pointed hard at Imre. "He can go! He said so!"

"And I explained why he cannot. Your father and I will allow a meld with a rare few. It must be me. They will not consent to anyone else."

"You always go! You never want to stay! You – you _don't_!" The small hands clenched.

Saavik softened her voice. "You know that to be untrue."

"Prove it!" Too young to understand, T'Kel's jaw jutted out. "If you go this time, I will – I will — _never_ –"

" _Kroykah_!" Saavik took her daughter in her hands. "If I had even the minuscule chance to stay here, I would seize it before you knew it existed. I go because the calculations tell me the way to bring us home is for me to do this. I do more for you if I go and I would do _anything_ for you. Even that which costs me most."

The fight born from her daughter's pain cycled back to upset. Mad, her mind and whole being in turmoil, and wanting to throw that threat at her mother warred with wanting Saavik's comfort. That won. T'Kel fell forward into her mother's chest, not threw herself into a hug like Setik had. Her upper body went over in a hard fall, her feet glued in place. She plunged forward as if throwing her arms out would slow her down from burrowing into her mother.

"Remain with your grandparents," Saavik whispered. "And it will be all right."

The rest of T'Kel caught up with her upper half and she _pushed_ into her mother. "I am five."

"Yes, I know." Saavik understood where this was going.

"So I am not Setik." She meant she didn't have his training.

"I know that as well and it is how it should be." _I want you only to be yourself._

T'Kel called silently for her twin and big brother. Setik and T'Pren came in, not knowing what to say or do.

Saavik was pragmatic to her core and T'Kel inherited that. But her son and youngest daughter had their father's idealism, so she told her one and only T'Pren, "Ask me which way is home."

Hushed, her daughter asked and her eyes rounded when Saavik touched a finger to her chest. "You," she moved the fingertip to Setik, "you," and then T'Kel, "you, your father, this family. You make where you are my home. I take that with me."

She went back to her oldest daughter who still burrowed into her and equally called to Spock. His psi abilities were stronger; it was where Setik inherited his. Spock put his hand on top of Saavik's, the one on their daughter's hair.

But that was not why she called her husband. As he helped ease T'Kel's torment, her eyes went to Sarek and Amanda.

"As you said," he spoke first, "we share the same priority. Whatever happens, we will care for the children."

"In that vein." Saavik nerve pinched Spock and grabbed his weight before he hit the floor. She lifted him in her arms.

The people in the room couldn't fathom one more surprise. McCoy stared at her in open-mouthed shock. Sarek and Kirk snapped out of it and helped her put Spock on a hospital bed. With her strength, Saavik could carry him, but their assistance removed the awkwardness.

"He is staying here with the children," she explained. She touched her fingers to his temple. "I am copying his memories of today's events, so our younger selves may have them if all goes well." She then stroked his cheek and whispered, " _T'hyla, T'hi Myi. Ashal-veh_."

His memories and their bond leaped at meaning of those words. They said so much, but as always, experiencing them in thought and feeling… no words on their own could equal it.

McCoy and Kirk asked for a translation, but Amanda shook her head. "It's private."

She looked to Sarek and saw he watched their daughter with their son too. He explained, "She would usually never say it in front of anyone."

McCoy frowned. "Then why say it now?"

Saavik caught Amanda's eyes that said she already loved this daughter more than she could put into words, just for this alone. "So Sarek and I would hear her and know."

"Yes," said Saavik softly.

The communicator chimed. It was Kamila Patrik. "Captain, I'm sorry to interrupt, but you wanted to know when we were ready."

"Understood."

Imre spoke for the first time since T'Kel came in. "Captain, please. I beg you, stay."

She said nothing. She honestly couldn't say one thing more. What no one seemed to understand was what this took from her.

"Stubborn!" he cursed under his breath. Then, just like that, he gave in. "All right, fine. My shouting at you isn't going to change things."

He pulled his communicator and ordered, " _Contact_ , transport me to …Auxiliary Command. When the captain requests a beam out, you are to send her to the saucer section on my authorization."

He stared at her in triumph as he faded away, resolute. No one said anything as the hum waned.

Then Kirk stated, not asked, "You already told them to ignore his orders and send him to the saucer."

"Yes," she agreed. "Another action he should have deduced. Honestly, I expected they would know me better." That included Spock. She had done this once before to him.

Saavik picked up each of her children, took their hand, and laid it to the side of her face, giving them her heart and thoughts. She put them next to their father as they poured their own selves back to her. Then she found Amanda. "Mother."

The children latched on to their grandmother who put an arm around them and took Spock's hand. She couldn't find words any more than Saavik, but her eyes said so much. That grew as Saavik reached under her uniform and pulled out the family necklace.

 _If I die, it must be handed down. If I live, this will be set right as with everything else._

The thoughts weren't for herself; they were to Amanda. Her mother's eyes squeezed before putting up a brave front and stepping around the bed.

Saavik looked at her quietly for a moment. "You give her the words." _Quickly_. She then settled her eldest daughter in front of her. "T'Kel."

The very young girl immediately puffed up with the same bravery and looked to her mother and grandmother with an air of great seriousness.

Saavik reached behind her to undo the necklace's clasp and remove the extension. Amanda laid a hand on her granddaughter's arm and spoke like she recited the incantation to a hallowed ritual. "The women of our family, T'Kel, have passed this necklace down from generation to generation since Earth's 1839. I will give it to your mother and now she gives it to you."

T'Kel's whole bearing swelled even as she fought the goodbye.

Amanda touched Saavik's hand. "Put things back so you can give this to her the right way." She went to Sarek, but jerked back. "Please. Take my memories with you as well. I know I'll want them."

"Mother."

"It's a few hours. You take on more in what you know for Starfleet. Saavik," Amanda took her other hand too, "please."

Deep inside, Saavik told herself honestly to hear and feel what Amanda did since this day began. "Agreed."

It started a chain reaction. Setik took hold of her. "Mother, I want to know as well."

She ordered a halt right there, pointing out again what this meant, especially seeing the expectant faces in the room.

"We have faith," McCoy replied.

In the end, the temptation was too much for her. She decided she need only get them to her husband back in time. With his abilities, he'd help if she was having a problem.

He stirred and with a silent appeal from her, the doctor used a tranquilizer on him to buy her another minute.

Once done, her mind felt… a little crowded.

Setik was last. Amanda held her wrist firmly and her eyes sparkled. "I can't wait until we meet for the first time again. Hurry."

Saavik put her hand over the other one. "As quickly as my path allows."

It took a second to pull away from him and his sisters. Was it overdramatic to think she felt the wrench physically? She looked at her unconscious husband to her father and mother, and to her children.

She singled Kirk out. "Jim."

She had never called him that before; she would never have the opportunity to do it again.

He grasped what she wanted. "You don't need to say it."

"I know." She didn't break her gaze from his. "But as you understand, I will say it anyway, despite the illogic. This is my family. They are everything."

He nodded and spoke with the seriousness of another officer who understood the old word of warrior. "I swear. With my life."

McCoy walked over with all that gentleman's charm that he taught to Setik. "Ma'am, it's been a real pleasure." He took her hand and kissed it.

Kirk came up next, the hazel eyes rewarding her with total acceptance. "He stole my thunder. It has been an honor, Saavik." He took her hands and kissed her cheek. "We told Spock he was lucky and that we're more than glad you happened to him. We've never seen him happier." He let go with a smile. "Your Imre obviously understands, so it won't be a problem that Spock's not returning to your crew. At least not until we see what happens with everything."

Saavik watched him step back with that reassuring smile and understood Stewart's attitude right as she left.

She flipped open her communicator for the battle bridge and ordered her calculations for the slingshot warp laid in. She kept it open for expediency's sake, but she grabbed Kirk with a glance. "Spock did not leave the _Enterprise_ for the _Contact_ or anyone else, not as long as you commanded."

"But—are you saying – I wondered what he could be doing on your ship. He's not your first officer or science officer. He wasn't even your second. But that means... _I_ leave the _Enterprise_?" Kirk's jaw tightened.

"A temporary assignment at Command only." _In a matter of speaking._ "You returned." _Twice, successfully. The third time brought about your death_. "However, another captain was assigned in that time and no one believed they'd let you return, including yourself. You proved them wrong. Spock's path had changed by then. You encouraged him not to turn back." _In spirit and through McCoy. It was time._

He searched her expression and found what she gave him and why. "Thank you."

Spock lay still on the bed with his father and mother behind him. Sarek had hold of the twins when Saavik fixed him with her gaze.

"You will find Spock of great assistance with the diplomats aboard both ships. He has become quite experienced."

Like Kirk, Sarek's expression went through all the implications of what she was saying. Amanda clutched his arm. "Do you mean-"

"Yes. He serves as an ambassador, with your sponsorship that he asked for and you gave. Your opponents speak of the proverbial scars from facing you both. They also talk of retirement rather than face the days when T'Pren will join you." Saavik readied her communicator. "She does not inherit the ability only from you, but from you and your son, as you followed your father."

Spock moved slightly, coming out of the unconsciousness.

She kept her eyes on Amanda and Kirk for one last look. She would never see them again.

At least she gave her husband more time with them.

 _Goodbye._

" _Contact_ , this is the captain," Saavik called. "Transport me to Auxiliary Command."

She contacted Imre as soon as she took the captain's chair on the battle bridge.

He spoke without preamble. "I realized there's no way you can court martial me, so I'm going to tell you exactly what I think of this trick you pulled in gloriously, shockingly filthy language."

"In a moment. We are ready to depart. I had Kyle Nachson's body transferred to here." Since Imre had it sent to the saucer section because he had planned to have Saavik be there.

He sobered. "He would have preferred that, being wherever you go."

Thalla faced down as she worked the helm, so she missed his looking at her.

Saavik called to her, "Mr. sh'Shytral, he speaks to you."

"Me?" The Andorian's head shot up. "I thought he meant you—" But Imre had been there when Thalla had beamed into Sickbay. She looked back past her captain to the empty tactical station. The blue skin tightened from the loss. "Thank you, sir." Kamila Patrik squeezed her shoulder.

Saavik returned to Imre. "The _Enterprise_ will return here in the event I am not successful. They have another way to restore time. Select a member of the crew, someone I trust equally in our time, but no civilians and not you. The crew needs you."

"Understood. I suppose it's illogical to wish you good luck or anything like it because if you have it, this all gets wiped out and I never said it."

"Very good, Mr. Imre." Her eyes were bright. "You realize my ready room is in your part of the ship."

He smiled with his eyes just like her. "You realize I'm going to be running around the corridors with that spear. And if we colonize, I'm going to look magnificent in paintings with it, leading everyone to the Golden Land."

She glanced over her left shoulder. "Mr. Bimojigar, check _Enterprise_ 's ready status." She returned to her exec. "Take care of our people, Risteárd."

His mouth thinned – a first officer left behind from his captain – but then all his respect for her enriched his voice. "Take care of you, Saavik."

Bimo spoke, "The _Enterprise_ is a go."

"As are we. Mr. Patrik, course laid in for the light-speed breakaway factor?"

"Yes, ma'am."

"Warp speed, Mr. sh'Shytral."

The turbolift doors opened behind her.

Thalla reported, "Warp two... warp three."

"Mr. Patrik-" They all still wore period uniforms rather than taking the time to change. "Are you wearing trousers?"

"Yes, ma'am. They are uniform, Captain. Permission to speak freely?" Kamila Patrik finished with some force, "If I'm going to die here, my backside's going to be warm."

"Good to have priorities." Frances Stewart came to Saavik's shoulder from the turbolift and looked down. "Thank you."

Saavik merely nodded, even if the meaning behind it could never be called _merely_. "It is your post. Take the jump seat, Doctor."

Because the powers that be in Starfleet Engineering decided Tactical and Communications didn't need chairs on a battle bridge, forcing those officers to stand. Only a tiny seat would protect Stewart when she blacked out. Bimojigar's claws secured her where she stood. Saavik already gave her permission to go on all fours when it came time so she didn't have far to fall to the carpet. She had refused the jump seat in case the _Enterprise_ needed them.

"Warp four, Captain... warp five..."

Patrik said, "Systems normal." With an unspoken, _so far_.

"Warp six... warp seven, warp eight."

Stewart hurried back to the far wall and hit the control next the Main Status Displays for the emergency seat. Chair arms came down around her body and secured her as everyone else's had already done.

Patrik called back, "Heat shields at maximum."

Or so the systems said, but was it real?

Thalla kept up the count, "Warp nine! ...Nine point two ...nine point three!"

Rekonda Alpha-20 started taking over the screen and Saavik's mind went over the calculations again. "We do not have breakaway speed."

The entire bridge vibrated as if shook by a giant hand. "I swear we will, Captain. Nine point five… nine point six!"

Saavik laid a hand on the side of her chair, interpreting the vibrations. Normal for what they were going through.

Patrik spoke to herself, "We had to get it all. We couldn't have missed anything he did."

"Nine point seven, nine point eight!"

Bimojigar interrupted, "Ambassador Spock insists on speaking with you, Captain."

She drew in a breath. _Adun_. "I am certain he does. Now, Mr. sh'Shytral."

They shot forward and the forces slammed into them.

"Steady on course!" Saavik encouraged over the engines' roar. To talk took as much strength as a battle.

Thalla blacked out last other than her. She clamped a hand to her chair again: something new, different. A shiver through her ship. Sabotage or part of the breakaway?

 _Must go to the conn. Ensure..._

Her hand dropped and banged like an unsecured door against the captain's seat as her head lolled back. The locked chair arms kept her safely in place, but darkness swallowed her whole from the inside.

. . . . . .

Spock ran out of the lift onto the bridge. Kirk, McCoy, his parents, and his children rushed out behind him.

He originally meant to leave the children behind, but they pleaded with him until Sarek interceded. "It is their mother."

Before that, he had planned to beam to the _Contact_ when Kirk and McCoy got in his way again. "It's too late. Your daughters, your son, they need you. And if the _Contact_ can't fix things, they need you here to help with the next attempt."

Kirk jumped into his seat. "Sulu, are we ready?"

"Ready?" Sarek asked.

"To do a different type of slingshot warp. We pilot into their 'shadow', so to speak, as they're about to enter their warp window. They will slingshot us into a higher speed than we could with just our own engines. It's so we can reach Babel on time. We worked it out with Saavik earlier. It's why I needed the younger Mr. Spock on the bridge before, to come up with the calculations."

 _Meanwhile, here I am, watching my mate head into her possible death._ Helpless. Again. "Lt. Uhura, hail that ship and tell the captain I _insist_ on speaking with her."

A pause as the _Contact_ stretched like a rubber band into its warp bubble and then Uhura said, "I'm sorry, Mr. Spock. I reached Bimojigar, but it didn't go any further."

The _Enterprise_ lurched forward, shot into their own warp window with the _Contact_ 's help. Spock had to grab his son while Sarek took hold of T'Kel and Kirk got T'Pren. The younger Spock held his mother's arm. Just for the initial jerking motion.

The older Spock began counting like he had when he feared – _"Yes, I said feared."_ – Setik had been transported out into space, but what length of time signified his wife's death or success?

Their bond was still powerfully there. That part of her taken and put into his mind, as a part of him lived in her, and made them always touching and never parted. If she died, it'd die with her.

How had he been so blind? No one knew Saavik better than him.

 _"No one has the claim on me that you do. No one can."_

She had told him that so many years ago, showing him what he was to her. Blind then and _blind now_. He should have known she'd do this. She would never risk his life if she could find a way to save it instead.

One breath.

Another.

Everyone watched him, using him as the barometer on whether things were all right. Uhura spoke up. "The _Contact_ 's saucer section is asking if Mr. Spock can tell them anything. Their Dr. Ssaalz said she's not sure if she's still connected to Captain Saavik."

No, he could not give them a final say in the matter. He couldn't even say he knew his consort was alive still so far, because that told his younger self that his wife was on that part of the _Contact_. "I do not believe them destroyed. It is all I can state with certainty."

His son came to his side. "Father? Will we feel it? If time changes?"

He didn't know.

His younger self turned to him suddenly. "Do you still have my memories?"

* * *

The scene with the Contact going into the slingshot around a sun is direct from ST IV and then customized for Saavik's situation.


	35. Chapter 35

Notes: Kyle's poem is from _The Magnificent Seven_ TV show; I changed the last line to fit here. The additional Vulcan vows later on are Tuvok's and T'Pel's in Voyager's _Body and Soul_ where they're also part of _pon farr_. Saavik's part of the _Hidden Universe Travel Guides: Star Trek: Vulcan_ book inspired the region in the next chapter. The alternative form of Saavik is from a Vulcan Language site; I made it the Pre-Reform version of her name. I say that Saavik made a miscalculation; I actually made it, but in thinking it over, I saw something that had to happen.

* * *

USS _Contact_ , Bridge

"Red Alert!" Saavik came hard and fast out of her ready room, Spock with her.

Imre got out of the captain's chair and swept each station in a glance, allowing her to focus on the main viewscreen. "All hands stand to battle stations! Load torpedoes. Stand by phasers."

Kyle Nachson repeated the orders as he put them into action. "Torpedoes and phasers, aye."

Saavik called over her shoulder, "Bimojigar, inform our other ships and Orbital Command to do the same. Notify all Vulcan commanders within the system of our status."

Nachson leaned over his Tactical station. "It's our name and registry on her nacelles and engineering section. I'll be damned."

Saavik took her seat. "Hopefully not."

"Where the hell's the rest of them?"

Because the engineering section and nacelles were all that existed. Someone had plucked the saucer section off the top.

Bimo called out, "Captain, the Commander of the VSE _Reflection_ and _Explorer_ is asking if you want them to return to Vulcan."

"Hold, Mr. Bimojigar. Mr. Nachson."

"They're still running with no shields and no weapons."

"Conn stations."

Thalla answered her. "They're adrift, Captain, without evidence of trouble in the engines or the other systems."

"Mr. T'allendil."

"Scans agree with the Conn as well as with Mr. Nachson. It is not only our registry, it is our warp signature. They have a minimal crew. Of note are the one Vulcan, one Andorian, one Sozon, and two humans lifesigns apparently on the battle bridge."

Bimojigar immediately spoke up, head moving like Thalla's antennae. "I am the only Sozon in Starfleet, Captain. That has not changed."

Imre shook his head, trying to work it out. "If they're trying to be us, they're missing a Vulcan and a few humans."

Saavik checked the scan results at her chair's monitor. "More than that. A crew of seven hundred and three reduced to numbers smaller than a skeleton crew." Saavik gave it one more second and then filed it to piece with anything else they could find. "Message to Commander T'Mes. Do not return to Vulcan, but hold position until further notice. Update our ships to take positions around the planet."

T'allendil reported, "No other unaccounted or unidentified ships approach the system. They appear to be alone."

"Mr. Imre, thoughts."

"None that will surprise you, Captain. I can think of a dozen reasons why they're missing their saucer section, but none for why they have our name and registry number. Unless you want me to wildly speculate: a parallel universe, a trap using duplicates… Starfleet has seen a lot of unbelievable things. They get points for creativity."

Like he said, no surprises. It might, however, explain the delivery she received this morning. "Hail them, Mr. Bimojigar. Ship-to-ship, tight beam, and let us pretend politeness at least. For the moment, assume their drift and silence is due to distress. Klaxon off."

"Yes, ma'am . . . unidentified ship, this is the starship _Contact_. Are you able to respond? _...Contact_ to ship in distress, do you copy?" Seconds went by. "No response, Captain."

Imre glanced over to her and Saavik raised her head in answer with her words: "Perhaps an example of how to be us then – and less politeness. Hailing frequency open. Unknown ship, this is Captain Saavik of the USS _Contact_. You are approaching Vulcan. Hold your position and state your intent."

Another two seconds passed and then Kamila Patrik reported, "They fixed their drifting, Captain, and moved into our flight path."

 _Confrontation_?

It took another instant before the main viewscreen changed from the stars with supposedly another _Contact_ to showing its battle bridge. Saavik heard several of her crew make exclamations. Duplicates had been a possibility, so that didn't take anyone off guard, but the uniforms:

Imre stared like everyone else as he leaned on one arm of her captain's chair. Spock was at the other. "They _really_ get points for creativity."

Saavik's lookalike immediately snapped, "You must defer your questions and contact the children's school _now_. Someone attempts abducting them."

Saavik shot to her feet and her head spun to her husband who stood watching the screen.

Lines crossed her duplicate's face along her forehead and around her eyes. "They have been or very shortly will be contacted to meet someone in the _t'kahr's_ office. A human male, pale with dark hair, lean build, under two meters in height, is claiming he is a diplomatic aide sent to retrieve them. Secure the children, but do not arrest the man as of now. I will explain once you have accomplished this."

Maternal instinct was already half way to the transporter room, calling for Security. But. This could be a ruse that camouflaged the real threat.

Her husband's eyes took hold of hers. They could not risk it.

"Mr. Bimojigar, mute the channel with the other ship and connect me with my children's headmaster."

The main screen split with S'Jenes on the right side, his black hair turning gray at his dark skinned temples. "Saavik," he greeted in recognition. His eyes flicked up. "Spock."

"Has a human male with diplomatic credentials arrived at the school?" she firmly asked and gave the physical description. "He would state a need to speak with our children."

"He waits in the next room. He specified he came in lieu of an Evan Porter. Is there an issue?"

Spock answered. "We believe it a possibility. However, do not make him conscious of it. Inform him the children cannot be excused from their classes at the moment. We will inform you of the investigation results shortly."

"You state this man is a danger? You are aware I have other students and my staff."

She replied, "We are sending personnel to aid you. Saavik out." She turned immediately back to Spock as she called out, "Security!"

"Tran here, Captain."

"Saavik," Spock interrupted and she told her Security Chief to wait. "This man has clearly studied us. His approach was impeccably done."

"He may know my senior officers at least." Was she going to heed her duplicate this far? _Yes, because it is the children's safety_. This copy of her held the same note in her voice as Saavik did now. She filed that piece with the others. "Commander Tran, send a team to my children's school. No uniforms, they are to be seamless with the staff. Select personnel that are not readily known to be in your department. Explanation to follow." She signed off.

She then signaled Bimojigar to unmute the channel to the other ship. "Explain."

Her duplicate pressed controls on her chair. Another face took the place of T'kahr S'Jenes. "This is Taushan Rhinar, a civil engineer who was part of the refit team. Unknown to all of us, he is a saboteur. We are not duplicates, we are you, approximately eleven hours in your future. We departed Vulcan this morning at our scheduled time and flight path. However, the sabotage instead sent us into a light-speed breakaway factor resulting in our arriving at Stardate 3844.8."

Imre frowned, trying to work it out. "That would be…"

Spock translated it. "The _Enterprise_ 's mission to Babel for the Coridan vote." Saavik caught the shift in how he held himself.

Imre was almost open mouthed. "Kirk's first five-year mission."

The supposedly older version of Saavik was busy, punching at controls. "In our timeline, Rhinar did abduct the children and had them on board." Her eyes flicked up. "In cargo crates. They were not discovered until we met with the _Enterprise_."

Where Amanda and Kirk would be alive. "Are you stating-"

"Yes." Amazing to see that her stare could pierce in that way.

More remarkable to think Amanda and Kirk had met her and the children. And that Spock—

Her own chair beeped with the receipt of several files: logs from the other ship, communiques, engineering reports… from Montgomery Scott as well as Sotraun. She immediately forwarded them to the different departments. "Analyze for authenticity."

Bimojigar came back first. "It is our data signature, Captain. I compared the _Enterprise_ 's against archives and it is confirmed. So is their captain's and the crew's voices, including Ambassador Spock's at that age."

Saavik looked to her husband again. He gave a bare nod. "Play the first communication."

"This is Captain James T. Kirk of the USS _Enterprise_. You must know by now that we transported three people from your ship."

Saavik found her counterpart's eyes on Spock in the same way she herself drew closer to him. It became obvious the three people that Kirk had where Setik, T'Pren, and T'Kel. And then Spock, the younger one, was visible and her Spock spoke back. It ended with his arranging to go aboard.

"Kirk," someone whispered reverently.

Saavik ordered her counterpart, "Hold."

"Wait! As you make your decision-"

"Decision?" She knew what this – other her meant, but some on the bridge wouldn't and Saavik wanted mostly to see if this really was her. What would she do next?

"To transport me aboard. Take this into account." She launched into three different languages and details that only she – or she and Spock – knew.

The first language was their daughter T'Pren's and the older Saavik spoke of how they discovered she was pregnant with twins. Only Leonard McCoy knew that outside of them.

The second language started with an apology for using it because it was the language of the Hellguard hybrids, as bastardized as themselves. Then she quoted T'Pren, the T'Pren who was Mother: "Little Cat, you must always watch the stars. You are like them, brave and bright. Home is _that_ one, there, with all the others shining in the night."

The last was in Old High Vulcan which, she knew, T'allendil did not speak and no one else on the bridge did either with Spock being the obvious exception. This time, this other Saavik spoke about two antique books and a letter written in the ancient style: wedding gifts from Spock, each covered by a protective dome on the shelf right above Saavik's bed in her cabin. The first book was from Earth: the bound letters of John and Abigail Adams of old America from the several times they were years apart because of government service. The second book was from Vulcan: Surak's letters to his wife for the same purpose.

The books weren't a secret; anyone could see the covers. A few of her people had also been there when she and Spock were interviewed with other couples in service, although the bored interviewer – quite famous on Earth – seemed to prefer people of his own kind. When he asked Saavik a question and she quoted a line from one of Surak's letters, "To be One with you, to increase in meaning, to be _whole_ for once," he asked bored, "What does that mean?"

She had thought about it and quoted Abigail Adams, "When he is wounded, I bleed."

He showed interest. "Wounds?"

Spock answered immediately, "Being separated from her."

They had been edited out – decreed too cerebral and therefore uninteresting – which was fine with her, but a few of her staff _had_ seen it. So, they knew about the books.

What no one else knew was what her counterpart quoted now: Spock's letter, under the third dome, that he gave her with the gifts. The other Saavik spoke the message to him now. "In all these other words, know that they speak these for me: you are the reason I do this. You are the strength that enables me to attempt it. You are the dream that tells me it is possible. You are and always will be my most ardent priority, and you are always the only star called Home I most desire and ever need."

Saavik wondered if the rasp she heard in her voice was there. "Hold." She took a moment; she had been touched in every sensitive area. "Reports."

T'allendil and Sotraun both agreed with Bimojigar: the files sent from the other ship were authentic. They also confirmed Taushan Rhinar had worked on the _Contact_ in critical systems such as Engineering and the Conn. A detailed listing of his work scrolled by on her screen and Imre's face grew darker and darker.

It explained why the other _Contact_ had moved into their flight path; to prevent them from re-triggering the time travel.

She eyed her counterpart and then put it to the person who knew her as well as she knew herself. In some ways, better. "Spock?"

He studied the viewscreen, as affected as she was by her other self's words and equally wanting to keep it private. "Your physical nature and manner of thinking could be studied." He looked again at the woman who was supposedly his wife. At last, he shook his head. "But not the first two languages or those private details. The latter are only known to us except for McCoy discovering the twins."

"And he would not reveal that detail to anyone except those we most trust."

On the contrary, McCoy could be as nearly "rabid", as he put it, as she could. He had once hollered at a young assistant who tried going into the family's private quarters. "Who do you think you are! It's a real short list of who gets to do that kind of thing and you're not even in the same room as the list!"

Imre added now, "Beaming her in means we can beam her right out if we need to, Captain. She wouldn't get a chance to finish the wrong move."

Nachson stated, "Their shields and weapons are still down."

Saavik met the gaze on that viewscreen. "Agreed," she decided.

Imre called out, "Security to Transporter Room One with a team."

"Belay that," Saavik ordered. "We save time by bringing her directly here. Security to the bridge. Dr. Stewart as well. Inform her she will perform a DNA test and biological scans." She signaled Bimojigar and the channel was unmuted. "I am transporting you here. Only you for the moment."

"Understood." That piercing stare again.

"Transport." Her counterpart finished dissolving over there when Saavik ordered, "Hold her in the beam."

"Hey!" the other Kamila Patrik protested.

"Mr. Patrik," Saavik explained as she rounded her way to Tactical, "we are allegedly talking about myself. If she is me, she expected this and would do the same. Mr. Nachson."

"No weapons, no explosives. Just her, ma'am."

"Finish the transport, but delay until Tran is here." As he prepared to allow the older Saavik to form, this Saavik asked her husband, "Do I stare in that manner?"

Amazingly, her crew and the other gave a variety of " _Yes!_ ", "It's like you can see _everything_ ", and "I saw someone cry once. He so deserved it."

Imre noted Saavik's surprise. "Sorry, ma'am, we thought it was a general question."

Spock flicked up an eyebrow when she looked his way.

Tran and a team came in and immediately formed a circle around the person beaming in. Stewart came up in the starboard side turbolift and caught sight of her other self in the blue uniform on the main viewscreen. She stopped and her older version shrugged and waved.

She stepped down to Saavik. "What the hell?"

The older Saavik finished beaming in and put her hands behind her head without noting the presence of the Security team. "You inspected me in the beam, of course."

The younger Saavik raised her brows at Patrik on the screen.

"I will assume that is a yes. Doctor." She slowly moved one hand out. "For the DNA sample."

Frances shook her head. "I can't wait for this explanation."

The younger Saavik shot out the next important question while Stewart worked. "You did not explain why Rhinar should not be captured immediately."

"To allow at least the appearance that his escape and setting his plan into action remains a possibility. Meaning his plan to send this ship back into time, not abducting the children."

"Why?"

"First, you must believe what I say is true. That I am you, merely hours older. Only that belief will make you cancel your mission and shut down this ship until it can be repaired of all sabotage. As it is, you continue to weigh the possibilities that I am creating the threat, not preventing it."

Nachson's arm stretched out and pointed to his empty station. "Where am I?"

The older Saavik answered, "Commander Imre remained behind with the rest of the crew and the diplomatic parties. The _Contact_ could have been sabotaged in a way that activated when engaging the breakaway factor."

Imre frowned. "I wasn't happy about that."

"No, you were not."

Nachson broke in again. "That's a run around answer. You taught me that." He came down to the main deck, his expression tight. "How did we meet?"

She switched her gaze to her younger self who echoed him. "Answer."

The older Saavik nodded as if given orders. "A mutual acquaintance told me of you. We met at the conclusion of your Kobayashi Maru test. You lingered, I entered the simulator."

"We were the only ones there. I complained about the test. What did you do?"

"Explained you could always reprogram it to win and then performed the reprogramming myself."

Exclamations again sounded on both bridges, but Kyle ignored it. "I ran the test four more times. On the fourth-"

She gazed at him warmly. "You ran it eleven times. On the fourth, you gave an obscene hand gesture to the enemy who, under the new conditions, bowed to your strength, prowess, and virility."

The younger Saavik allowed herself to internally shake her head. "I still cannot believe I allowed you to continue after that one."

"Neither can I," Nachson agreed, expression still hard. "But you did until I said I understood the test."

The older Saavik corrected, "No, until you grew bored. You said it was an empty win with the enemy doing whatever you wanted. You thought the test meant facing the possibility of your death, something you already had done. I suggested the test meant facing the death of others."

"And," he shot back, "how I handled that, getting someone killed because of my orders."

Her warmth changed; it… dimmed. "Yes."

"Last question. I asked you if you offered to be my mentor as?"

The lost light in her eyes returned. "As a means - and with the condition - of you becoming my sexual partner. To date, you are the only one to ask me or perhaps any Vulcan such a question. I told you no and asked if you were relieved or disappointed. You replied?"

"That I hadn't thought about it one way or the other, just wondered if it was what you were doing. Some people do. But once I thought about it, I realized?"

Her light grew. "You wouldn't be able to handle me and your congratulations to the one who could."

Spock dipped his head, taking the compliment.

"I lied," Nachson said. "This is the last thing since someone may have seen us in the simulator and I just don't know about it. But not this. What's the first thing I ever quoted to you?"

The younger Saavik stared at him as much as the older one did. This was not his usual quotations; he had sent it to her, baring his soul, to show his feeling he couldn't fit the world outside the one he knew, and his commitment to her. It was the only one he never recited out loud.

"You want me to answer in front of everyone?" asked the older Saavik.

"Don't you know it?"

She looked around the watching faces when T'allendil offered her a padd. The older Saavik flipped it around so people could see nothing was on it. She hurriedly entered her answer and handed it to him. "I have never told this to anyone, not even Spock. I will not break your privacy."

He read it quickly and then flicked his eyes back up to her, a brightness to his features that wasn't there before. The younger Saavik took the padd from him and cleared it before someone else saw it.

"So, you're you." Kyle closed the gap between them. "Which means you know I would _never_ stay behind."

Stewart interrupted this back and forth. "Sorry, but I have the test results." She looked over to the younger Saavik. "DNA says she's you. I know that might not be enough since Starfleet has seen duplicates in different ways, so I ran the deeper scan you asked for."

She handed her device to her captain. Spock leaned over to see; so did Nachson.

"That internal scarring?" Frances pointed out. "A duplicate wouldn't have it because it's not in your DNA. If she was made in the transporter with your pattern, she would have it because she's still you versus a clone. And the scarring is _exact_. The odds of some… copy, separate from you, going through the exact same experiences to create that? You can calculate them better than me, but I'm concluding she's you."

"My wife." Spock motioned for her to step over to the port turbolift for privacy. He lowered his volume so only she could hear. "I agree, more now that she is aboard. She is you. _Aduna_ , I am bonded to her."

She stared back at him and oddly felt… territorial.

"The only way for the bond to exist between her and I is because a part of her was placed in my mind as well as the reverse. That part is you. _You_ are the one I carry with me, no one else."

That more than anything convinced her, especially as she could sense the opposite was true. This other version held the bond to Spock just as she did.

But Saavik still wanted to refuse, to investigate. Why?

 _Because the children are threatened._

However, she did them no good like this. "Agreed," she announced.

Her older self strangely grew more intense. "You must begin the cargo loading once more."

Spock asked her, "More of your appearing to have Rhinar fulfill his plan?"

"Yes. I require more time. A small amount. The children remain safe."

The younger Saavik asked this time, "Again, explain."

Her own dark eyes turned on her. "I have Amanda's memories of this day."

Saavik felt her husband's reaction; it felt a lot like hers.

Her counterpart turned that intensity on Spock. "As well as Kirk's, yours, the children's… you understand. I must remain… in existence, if you are to have them. Once Rhinar is captured, I cease to be."

 _I speak with Amanda again. I speak with… Mother. And Kirk. What is his reaction to me as captain? And my father's younger self. And my husband's. What is his reaction to me? To our children?_

Spock's feelings came strongly through their bond, hungry to know what this other Saavik did.

The older version added, "I prefer privacy."

"As do I." Saavik stepped back and waved her older self to her – their ready room.

"Captain!" Imre protested.

"Restore cargo loading procedures, Commander, and do not concern yourself. Spock and I can manage a great deal." His scowl didn't lessen. "I will signal for help if I need it."

"Tran, keep watch at the door," he ordered.

The big Security Chief took a position on one side of the door with his brother on the other.

Before she stepped off the bridge, the younger Saavik heard Thalla on the other ship shout, "Idiot!" Then something in Andorian, meaning she was talking to her younger self. "Both of you! You _love_ him! He loves you! Stop wondering if it's what you want because it is!"

 _Ah_.

Saavik caught the other Thalla on her feet behind her station, yelling at both herself and Nachson. He took long strides to stand next to this Thalla while he called out to the other, "Hally! Where am I?"

"In another part of the ship. Don't change the subject because—! Oh—the captain knows about us already. But everyone else is staring."

"Frances," her older self called, "guess what? I kissed Len McCoy."

Saavik left the stunned Imre to sort things out.

The older Saavik followed Spock into her other self's ready room. Hers was eighty-five years in their past.

But it was the same room, so she carefully stood in its center with her hands at her sides. She saw her younger self understand: she made no move to unlock any of the weapons, in case there were lingering doubts.

The other Saavik went to her desk. "I received this three minutes before you appeared. Rather as a herald of your arrival."

She spun the screen so the older version could see the image of Imre and their officers around him on the main bridge. They were all in profile as if gazing at the… Golden Land appearing on the horizon. Her first officer stood as magnificently as he predicted: strong appearance, something like a Vulcan's brown outer robe draped over his uniform, his real uniform, and the _Qeechal_ spear in his hand like a mighty staff. Jaxon Tran held the armored elephant war hammer and Caleb held Nachson's favorite sword across his shoulders like a yoke, the Tactical station left empty out of respect.

The younger Saavik said, "It is very remnant of _Washington Crossing the Delaware_ meets _Surak's Start of Peace_."

"Surprising that T'allendil and Sotraun agreed to be in it," the older replied. "It must have been an interesting conversation." She caught the other looking at what she wore.

"The uniform… you went aboard the _Enterprise_?"

She nodded. "And, therefore, ordered the crew to era specific uniforms and equipment. Suppo and Wardrobe are quite pleased."

Spock had no doubts who she was. She was _his_ Saavik; he knew it, so he approached with something he didn't bother to hide from her: impatience. "You said my mother and Jim?"

"Them, Sarek, McCoy, you, the children…" His eagerness overrode thinking about his younger self not being here. Her other version, however, frowned at it and then the confusion cleared.

"Spock and the children are with Imre?"

"No, with Mother and Father as well as Captain Kirk and the _Enterprise_. I suppose I could have left them with our crew, but I thought it better for the family to be together." Instead of tearing Spock and the children from Amanda and Sarek who could provide a better foundation. "And our Spock has more experience with the Guardian. He is of greater help to Captain Kirk and Imre that way. I did, however, order Imre not to allow Spock to be the one to use the Guardian." She looked into his eyes. "The children must have at least one parent."

"My wife." His fingers hovered over the sensitive points on her face.

Odd to look to herself for permission to meld with her own husband. "You deserve them," she said to him and then to her other self, "You both do." She covered his hand with hers and pressed down.

 _"I think we're looking at our future, Bones."_

 _"A light-speed breakaway factor?"_

 _"They're kids, Jim! We found them stuffed in a crate!"_

 _"I am Setik, son of Spock, son of Sarek."_

 _"I'm officially releasing you from being in charge. That's my job now."_

 _"Marriage has nothing to do with logic. Savor this."_

 _"I was wondering, lad—"_

 _"For the record, I'm glad that happened for you."_

 _"It's good to see you, Spock, as always."_

 _"Mother."_

 _"It's in these three, and your wife, wherever she is."_

 _"She is a choice?"_

 _"How do you find fatherhood?"_

All of it poured out of her and into him.

 _"We do think highly of Grandmother Amanda. Very. Etek ashau fa-komi."_

 _"May I present Saavik? She is-"_

 _"We wanted to tell you - T'Pren... Tenu't and I - that we think very highly of you. The highest."_

 _"From a little brother to a little sister who knows big brothers are the best heroes in the universe."_

 _"Damn it!"_

 _"What did you tell that boy?!"_

 _"You chose the wrong family."_

 _"You have attacked my grandson, my family. My child's child! That will not be forgiven."_

All the different viewpoints.

 _"The three of you are reunited and we are off to see the stars!"_

 _"We're going to be born. The right way!"_

 _"Whatever happens, we will care for the children."_

 _"The women of our family, T'Kel, have passed this necklace down from generation to generation."_

 _"Ma'am, it's been a real pleasure."_

 _"We told Spock he was lucky and that we're more than glad you happened to him. We've never seen him happier."_

" _T'hyla, T'hi Myi. Ashal-veh_."

Spock's fingers broke away, but he didn't. He was shaken and he didn't hide it from his wife, either of them.

"I," he began. He swallowed. "I understand again how difficult it was to say no to the children. When they made their plans to rescue Thieurrull."

"What?" the younger Saavik exclaimed.

"In a moment," her older self answered before returning to him. "That is not what you started to say."

"No, it is not." His voice was hoarse. "I _want_ this – this life you lived today – and cannot have it." He didn't say if the children could be spared their pain and Nachson his death. She knew it.

She sounded equally husky. "Time must be secure."

His head lowered as he moved away before he suddenly snapped back. "The two of you may be unable to meld. You could lose your separateness."

The two women watched each other.

"I could pass on the memories to you," he offered to the younger Saavik. "It will not have the effect of direct experience as I do not have with my other self. However, it is no risk."

She said, "I will take the risk."

"So will I," the older responded.

He raised both brows. "As I expected."

The memories poured out once more and Spock did have to help at the end to allow their minds to pull apart and back into themselves. The experience left the older Saavik feeling less like she kept everyone in her head, pushing to get out.

But melding with oneself? They both rubbed at the psi points along their faces and took several cleansing breaths.

Finally, "Surreal," said the younger Saavik.

"Infinitely," said the older. She dropped her hand from her head. She saw her other self feel the memories and experienced an echo. The younger her swung to Spock.

 _I want this_.

The older Saavik had to point out, "It is unknown if you will keep these memories. Once time has been restored, they will never have happened. My only calculated possibility is my being a catalyst for the children being saved and Rhinar thwarted. As that affects your present and future, the memories from that catalyst may remain in your present and future as well. Especially, Spock, with your training at Gol."

Her younger version frowned. "We could capture Rhinar and then not know why?"

"It is a possibility. We have seen it work and not work."

Spock thought aloud, "I remembered all three timelines when I used the Guardian to save myself as a boy. Captain Kirk first theorized it was due to our being the time portal, and therefore secured from losing the memories of our time. However, he simply waited on the planet while I returned to my past and yet, he also remembered all that happened. Perhaps the exposure was all we needed."

"If so," the younger Saavik noted, "these memories may be the exposure we needed, after all."

"Or I may devise a way to mentally recreate that same… protection to ensure it."

The older Saavik didn't have much more to add. "We could attempt recording it in your log and the others. We may see a portion remain even if the memories fail. However, I calculate the odds of recording survival being 5,390 to 1."

Thoughts and images played at the fringe of the older Saavik's mind, first one and then a growing number. But they weren't hers or her other self's.

She caught Spock's eyes taking in the two versions of his wife and then running along her uniform. The bond connected them, even without touch, although what he was thinking was loud enough without it. She and her counterpart exchanged knowing glances before turning them on their husband, still unaware he was caught. " _Adun_ , you're aware we can hear you."

His head darted between the two of them and their meaningful looks. He straightened before lifting an eyebrow. "Surely such thoughts are a husband's prerogative."

Nachson bursting in was a torpedo going off too close. He ignored her younger self and came to her. "I'm in the morgue. I'm dead over there. That's it, isn't it? I got a _right_ to know, Captain."

"Yes, you do." She looked back into those green eyes that she last saw closed from lifelessness. The younger Saavik lowered her own as the memory came to her consciousness. "And yes, you are."

His mouth thinned, but nothing else in his rigid expression changed. "How? Tell me I was doing something worth it."

Her face hardened as much as his. "Nothing makes your death worthwhile to me. Your loss is always too vast for that."

"But-" He struggled for the words. "There's death and there's… I could have been _doing_ something."

She tried giving him what he looked for. "You were. We believed the _Enterprise_ safe and so we kept the children there. You stood watch over them and my mother-in-law, and then escorted Setik to his father and their Dr. McCoy."

"And?"

"This man Rhinar set an ambush in Sickbay. He attacked you from behind and… he broke your neck."

Kyle squeezed his eyes tight. "He got Setik."

"…Yes. However, you gave him a chance to warn us which saved the girls and Amanda. And we rescued Setik."

The younger Saavik moved in front of him. " _You_ are alive and you will not live that future. It is time to end this." She glanced to her older self. "Will you go with us?"

The other Saavik caught the image of Imre and her officers on the computer again. More importantly, she saw something she didn't give herself time to see earlier.

"Saavik?"

Fascinating to her own voice call her. "I will remain here. It is your battle, your Rhinar. However, if I may keep Nachson?"

She got a nod as a reply and then the younger self spoke to him. "Remain with her and report to me at the children's school as soon as you are able."

She and Spock made it to the door when they realized they would never see her older self again.

"Go," she urged, feeling a twinge. The holopic overrode it.

Nachson immediately protested, "Captain, that man murdered me. Let me go after him!"

"You will. I swear it to you." She leaned closer to the screen and zoomed in: lines around Caleb Tran's eyes and mouth that he did not have when she left; deeper lines on Imre's face and gray growing in his sideburns and into his hair that receded at the temples.

She pushed away from the desk, eyes wide.

"Ma'am?"

"I made a mistake." She didn't bother to sit as she called up scans. She ordered T'allendil to search Vulcan for particular lifesigns and heard her younger self ordering Rhinar's crimes into each officer's logs and the people from the other _Contact_ beamed over. It sounded as if Suppo had come to the bridge as well.

The results came quickly; she disregarded the signs at the school and memorized the others. She turned to Nachson and warmly smiled with her eyes, as Amanda had shown her so many years ago. "One last beam out, Mr. Nachson? One last secret of mine to keep?"

Of course, as soon as she asked, he was exactly… him. A shrug and a calm, "Anything you say, Captain."

She ordered Transporter Room One to beam them to the memorized coordinates.


	36. Chapter 36

Vulcan, Lake Sa'ahkh-vik

As soon as they could see again, the two of them saw a lake. A _lake_ on Vulcan: it was like the snow on top of Mount Seleya.

A community spread itself along one bank while carvings of primitive Vulcans and animals stared out from the rock wall on the opposite side. The mountains and desert on the horizon lurked as if warning the water what had happened to its sister bodies.

Different species of water birds and reptiles sounded in morning harmony with the lapping waves, while a few mammals approached to drink. The smell of fresh water and its plant life changed the air; a ripple broke the surface and a splash followed it.

"That was a fish! A _fish_!" Nachson exclaimed, naturally astounded. They stood midway on a slope, looking down to the lake's edge. "I heard about this place. I always meant to come see it, but it's like it's not real."

Saavik's eyes went everywhere around the water that took so much for Vulcans to keep on the desert world, as well as the diverse community on its bank.

He turned back to her. "OK. You said a secret and a mistake."

"Yes, a critical miscalculation. Time is not linear. It loops and touches in points. The argument is even made that it is simultaneous. It is _our_ perception that makes it separate. I am here seventeen minutes, Rhinar is captured, and I will not be standing next to you."

It felt like death. Her voracious survival instinct thrashed under the surface like a prisoner, demanding she battle for life as she always did. She hadn't expected it. She'd imagined she would see her younger self _as_ herself, as interchangeable. If the younger lived, she lived.

But that was wrong. She had lived this day, she had fought its battles, she had found her friends and family. She had lived her younger self's life, but her younger self had not lived hers.

It separated them.

Meanwhile, _where_? She scanned the people on and around the water again.

Aloud, she continued, "At the same time, Spock, the children, Imre and the crew, will all disappear simultaneously with me. None of it will have happened."

Losing her, even though he kept the younger Saavik, sunk in. His voice roughened. "Got it."

"Except it's wrong. It is not so simple… or perhaps it is more simple. It is still eighty-five years. I traveled through it to you at warp speed."

Saavik found them. Three Vulcan adults moved through other people in the community and came this way.

"When time is repaired," she went on, her voice even like she hadn't seen them, "the simultaneous relationship is in effect. That is how I calculated my decisions. However, _until_ time is repaired, the past and present remain in force."

The group walked up the slope towards her. One man and one woman wore Starfleet uniforms, different divisions.

Nachson's eyes grew round as he understood. "Captain, you're saying-" He realized she looked past him and followed her gaze.

"I am saying, it is not the seventeen minutes that matters at this moment. It is the _eighty-five years_."

The two women were undoubtedly identical twins, their black eyes defying type and reflecting the warmness of Vulcan itself. The one in a Starfleet uniform kept her dark hair short except for long bangs swept to the side; she carried a bag. Her sister's hair was long and elegantly styled, as dignified as her clothing and diplomatic signet. Their older brother wore a uniform too, Medical division. He had fulfilled his parents' prediction of having his grandfather's build with his grandmother's blue eyes and his father's features.

"Mother," he said gently, his eyes bright.

"Setik." Saavik stood, frozen, and then abruptly grabbed him and pulled him to her. She had scooped him out of a medical bed to do this same thing only an hour ago, as he begged to know why she hadn't been there for him.

She held one arm out to her daughters who rushed to her. She pressed her head to each of theirs and felt the mature mental touch of three children who had just been under ten years old a few moments ago.

Nachson exclaimed quietly under his breath, but they heard him. They broke away, the children hovering close to her. "I didn't mean to interrupt," Kyle apologized. "It's just – _look_ at you." His eyes went around. "I missed you."

Instead of questioning whether he meant _I missed you growing up_ or something else, Setik replied with a genuine, "As we did you."

"Yeah, about that." He grabbed hold of the other's shoulders. "Listen-"

Setik raised an eyebrow. "You blame yourself for my capture. I blamed myself for your death. Let us agree we are not at fault and Rhinar is."

Kyle gave a big grin. "Good man. Is it just you guys?"

 _Where is your father_? Saavik's heart kept asking and her eyes continuously searched the lake shores for another figure to join them.

"Yes," T'Kel answered, both looking at her mother and keeping her gaze away, "although I married at one point. I… was very young and I made a mistake. It ended."

Saavik stared. "You were married?" _And I wasn't there for it or to comfort you at the end_.

T'Pren jumped in for her twin; some things stayed the same. "He never had the strength of character to appreciate her, Mother."

Setik's jaw line tightened. "He was not equal to her. He never was."

"Hold on." Nachson went to T'Kel. "This guy treated you bad?" And then like nothing had ever changed – and in this way, it hadn't, "You could've come to me. I'd have kept your secret."

"Yes, you would." She looked at him, the little girl seeing him as an adult. She said lightly, so he knew it was all right, "You were a little young too."

He didn't like it and Saavik understood. He set his teeth against each other. "I wish I could've been there, helped you somehow. Even if I just took that-" He spun to Setik. "You took care of this, right? This guy that hurt her?" He faced T'Pren. "You stood up for your sister?"

T'Pren's eyes crinkled. "Of course, we did. Uncle James went with us, Uncle Leonard and Hikaru, Uncle Pavel, Aunt Nyota. It was _fascinating_."

 _Uncle James?_

"What's this guy's name?"

"Ante Ryan." T'Kel nearly smiled. "Are you going to track him down?"

His teeth flashed in answer until Setik's next words. "You are everything we remember."

Nachson's eyes went from him to T'Kel to T'Pren. "C'mon, I'm just the guy who did things like run you around and sneak your toys into the captain's office."

"As I suspected," Saavik returned.

T'Pren answered him. "Those things? They meant everything. _You_ mean everything to us." Her whole expression was a smile. "You are our Fun Uncle. We're so pleased to finally talk to you again."

He ducked his head and cleared his throat.

They weren't little kids anymore. Except, they were. At this moment, they were also five and seven years old and in school.

But not these three. Saavik had allowed Nachson to go first for a reason; in fact, it was the reason she brought him. She decided she'd have to tell him straight out when he proved she didn't need to.

He came to her, the grin gone. "I'll buy you all the time I can." He moved a few steps away to beam out.

"Kyle," Saavik called. His eyes shone. "Do not die for me."

"I hear you." He brought up his communicator and then didn't flip it open. "Will I remember you?"

"Unknown," she said gently.

He went back to her in fast strides and took her head between his hands, then pressed his forehead to hers. It was a human sign of brotherhood and it was a Vulcan sign of that and much more. " _Captain. My. Captain._ "

She told him what she had said over his body and then brought the words from his first quotation to linger in their minds. The one he had just asked her to remember:

I'm not the way they see me,

Not who they think I am.

I'm just a man.

And I have need of you, sweet woman.

Not for the velvet of your touch,

But for the weaponry of your mind.

There's a hole, it needs mending.

My own Achilles heel.

So I offer up my need.

Teach me, noble lady,

I will follow where you lead.

Now he was the one who kissed her hair and whispered, "You can say yes to this, Saavik. I'm good with it."

He stepped away leaving her puzzled. Setik called to him and as soon as Nachson turned, he knelt on one knee. Kyle knelt too and faded away in the transporter beam.

The hum still dimmed when everyone moved quickly. They had to seize however much Nachson got them and they had so much to say.

Saavik went first. "You have been here all this time? Where are Imre and the crew?"

T'Pren replied, "We did not settle here. It was tempting and having Grandfather and Grandmother so close had advantages. It was too dangerous, however, even with the new identities they created. Once Father and the others realized their perception of time was wrong, they decided the Federation and Starfleet had to know. It has been highly classified ever since, but we have a colony, far from the core worlds. We chose this as our rendezvous point with you long ago. Mother, did you notice the lake's name? It is _your_ name in its pre-Reform origin - _Sa'ahkh-vik_ \- before the Romulans modified it."

When her name meant _from the well-war_ , before it was _Sa'Av Ik_ and its common form. She had noticed it when she was first assigned to Vulcan after Spock's _fal tor pan_. But today… today she memorized coordinates and paid no heed to where they went, only that her children –

– her grown children –

– waited here.

She tore her eyes from them for a brief second to view the lake. "You came here because of the name?"

"It gave us a connection to you," her daughter said. "That has never stopped being important."

Saavik held her hands out because her children's need – and her own – came through like they were oh so small still. A basic want came up through them, wanting Mother to step back up on that pedestal and put their worlds right.

Setik took one hand and she split her fingers on the other; not to salute but so each daughter could take half of her fingers each. Just like when they were little and used her as balance to walk.

So many things to ask. "I melded with the Spock here only moments ago. He did not have any memories of you."

"We had to suppress them," Setik explained. "It is another discovery we made."

T'Kel added. "He would not go to Gol otherwise."

"You had contact with everyone else though? You said Uncle James?"

T'Pren's mental touch shimmered. "He preferred Uncle Jim, so we used it as well. It started at adulthood when they all said they didn't want ranks or titles like Mister anymore."

Saavik took in her son and daughter's red uniform jackets. She asked T'Kel first and warmly remembered the scene in Sickbay. "I suppose I know who sponsored you."

"Yes. It's been interesting keeping out of your and Father's way."

Her mother slid the white shoulder braid between her fingers. "Command?"

"Uncle Jim insisted. He always hoped I'd go for the captain's chair myself."

T'Pren informed her proudly, "She has another jacket as well, Mother. For Engineering and the helm."

"Mother, this one… it is yours." T'Kel clarified. She looked at her with a spark in her eyes. "You did leave your cabin behind and this way, it matches your own." The spark grew when she eyed the green dress "Usually. I would be in violation," she stroked the insignia. "No one has a captain's rank at the colony. Imre refused it, he said it was yours. It is a tradition now. I was given permission for today." She scooped up the bag she dropped when Saavik held out her arms to them. She offered it to her mother. "In case you would prefer to match."

Saavik's fingers tightened on the braid and opened the bag. Her uniform. She pulled out the jacket, not using time for the rest. She kept a hold of T'Kel's eyes as she slipped it on.

Now she paused to ask Setik, placing her hand on his green braid. "Leonard McCoy?"

His posture got more lift. "For medical school and the Academy."

T'Pren expanded on her brother's life too. "Setik commands the colony's medical division, Mother, along with Ssaalz."

Saavik held the braid a little longer, imagining her son side by side with her namesake, so far from that junior position. She let it go, their minutes running out. "You avoided me, but you stayed in connection with the others?"

T'Pren said, "We did. They made this life… a life. And we _mostly_ avoided you. Some moments were too tempting."

Saavik automatically gave them the look she did when they didn't behave. "When?"

Setik tried to be the voice of reason. "When we thought it would do no harm. For example, we could not be with the _Symmetry_ team to Thieurrull obviously, we were only children, but we did go to your foster family right before the Academy. We told the couple we were an evaluation team and couldn't speak with you directly, only observe you. We went to Vulcan when you were attacked by the Romulan hybrids disease. We couldn't be with the medical group itself, but we were on the Orbital station. Grandmother brought us into your hospital room when you were unconscious during Phase I."

T'Kel said, "I pretended to monitor a class at the Academy so I could watch you and Father at lectures. Otherwise, Setik and I had to wait to be in the Academy class five years after you but also five years before Valeris." Her brow darkly furrowed. "She marked another time we could not act on what we knew."

T'Pren's voice sobered. "Another was being with Grandmother Amanda when she died. And we went to see Uncle Jim before he did. They both left you recorded messages if there's time."

She explained there was more, such as McCoy coming up with an explanation for their biology and sealing it under the Vulcan Privacy Act to get them safely in the Academy. Or the time Scotty snuck T'Kel on board the _Enterprise_ when the younger Spock was meant to take leave at home, only to have him call Saavik for help when no one else believed him. Or how T'Pren came on board with Sarek and Amanda as a diplomatic aide. How the younger Spock was sent off on an errand so the three siblings and the older Spock could stand around Kirk and have what they all wanted since that first day: _we are off to see the stars!_

Except, their mother wasn't there.

Saavik tried to think of differences since Kirk, Amanda, and everyone else knew her life. Kirk's smile at the _Kobayashi Maru_ … was it broader? Was Sarek's initial reluctance with her more of something he was told to do? Was Amanda's welcome not so much a first time but waiting for her to arrive? Were all their looks confused as well as mourning Spock's death?

For the most part, the children explained, they were assigned to the colony, especially Setik whose looks brought too many questions. With Kirk and Sarek behind him, his story of being a cousin gained solidity, but it still was easier for the twins than him.

Which was why T'Pren, in her diplomatic corps capacity, got trade ties with what was seen as lesser worlds in the Federation, but T'Kel realized were untapped sources for technological advancement. Even though they couldn't share or use any major discoveries outside the colony.

Saavik wondered how much longer could Nachson buy them. "Did no one try to fix time another way?"

T'Pren answered, "Father took a team to the Guardian once we realized we had to wait for today for you to return. But it wouldn't allow anyone through, not for this. You were in a unique situation. Not because you used a different means of time travel. We could go after you or you could come back through despite your journey starting in another way. It said you, to our senses, began your jump through time but had not landed, so to speak. Anyone attempting to go after you interfered with time further."

 _As with the first time and McCoy ran through the portal_. If he had stayed within the portal, in that limbo, Kirk and Spock wouldn't be able to follow him. It was the fact he went through that allowed them to follow to the new timeline. Kirk, Spock, and anyone else on the Klingon Bird of Prey could have used the Guardian to return, as another example. Like the Guardian had said, Saavik appeared frozen in midleap to the people she left behind. They waited the eighty-five years for her foot to touch down.

She began plotting.

T'Pren's head went back. "Mother, you have not asked about Father."

Because Saavik did not want to hear the cold facts that her husband had died, and that was why her constant searching around the lake for him never found him. Why this was the first time the children said something directly about him to her.

"When-" _did he die?_ No, she would not say it. "Where-"

"He is behind you waiting to be noticed."

She spun around quickly and her heart pounded in her side. He stood a few paces further up the slope and had gone completely gray with more lines to his face. His eyes… his eyes had not changed or the intelligence in them. So handsome, so distinguished. _Hers_. And _here_. She wanted to throw herself at him and her rushed steps nearly did so. "I was... no one spoke of you being here. I thought the bond I sensed was from your counterpart. _Spock_."

"You were wrong," he said in teasing. "The bond is with me. Your husband." His head cocked to the side. "Odd. To be jealous of one's self."

She knew; she felt it earlier. "I seem to be nothing but wrong today." She did something she rarely did; she hesitated. She had to ask, but the answer… her pounding heart squeezed. "The bond. Do I have a right to it? It has been... too many years for you. Has someone… replaced me?"

He put two fingers to her lips to quiet them. "No one ever could. You are my true mate and no one in any time can change that truth." He let his hand fall. "The age difference has grown significantly. Perhaps you-"

She gave back to him all the love showing in his gaze and the words he gave her. "You are my true mate and no number can change that truth. I only care that we have been... _parted_."

"My wife, we have little time."

Her eyes went from one child to another and thought of the lives they had built. Her hand shot to her communicator. "I must stop ourselves."

"Saavik-"

"Nachson will heed me." _You can say yes to this, Saavik. I'm good with it._ This was what he meant. He'd let her choose the family's continued existence over his own. In fact, he'd make it happen that Rhinar got away and the time travel took effect. She only had to ask.

Spock still reached to stop her. "Husband," she argued, "I cannot have our family destroyed. My last decision was in grievous error, I will not make this one."

"Mother," T'Kel said quietly. "Imre is dead."

 _No!_ Her head shot to the sky where his younger self stayed on their ship. She had intended to ask if he married the woman he wanted.

"We have told you the positive," T'Pren explained. "It is not all that way."

She had just asked this about Nachson only hours ago. "How?"

"He contracted Ubalos Syndrome."

Saavik stared at her. "A cure exists for it. Sickbay remained with him and it was fully stocked."

"It was," Setik agreed, the next to give bad news. "However, Ubalos Syndrome strikes entire populations. We did not have enough for everyone. In a case like that, Starfleet would signal a medical emergency and send other ships. With us, they could not."

The fact her son danced around came to her on its own. "The cure was discovered in the 24th Century. I abandoned you in the 23rd. Starfleet could not help and you could not allow them to have it ahead of its historical time."

"Mother, you did not _abandon_ us. No one thinks that way. And we did synthesize the drug from the last of our original stores… but it took more time than we estimated. Commander Imre refused to take it while the civilians and the crew suffered. We didn't produce enough in time to save him."

What had she done? How many were gone?

"I will go back," she decided. "I will bring all of you forward with me instead of leaving you." Spock shook his head. How was she not convincing him? "Then I will go back to shortly after I left. I can use the Guardian. I will make Imre take that cure. I will be with you and the children. We will be _together_ for all these years."

"You will never make it before time is returned."

"You underestimate Nachson."

"You underestimate _ourselves_." Spock's eyes never left her face. "I give your Kyle Nachson a great deal of respect. I didn't think we would have this much time. That is his doing. However, our younger selves will eventually step in and seize Rhinar lest he continues to threaten anyone. Especially the children."

" _You_ want _me_ to threaten the children! _These_ children! How do I do that?"

A strong hand seized her wrist and pulled the communicator from her hand. T'Kel. " _You_ need not make this decision, Mother. We are. For once, someone else will have the burden."

Setik. "We have known for eighty-five years that this day would most likely come. We will allow everyone to have the lives they are meant to live."

"And your lives?" she insisted. "With your grandmother and Jim Kirk and Montgomery Scott?"

"But without you. Our mother." T'Pren. "We will have lives still. Not with them, we are aware of it and _feel_ it. Deeply. But this life is with _you_. As you know, Mother, they would make the same decision you did earlier: correct the wrong that has happened despite the personal cost." Her gaze found her father. "We have, however, one thing that is ours."

"My wife." Saavik's haunted eyes went back to her husband. "Our counterparts will have the next life together after this one. Their _katras_ will be in the Hall of Thought and whatever they discover after it. A life together, no service, no duty taking us away. _Together_. Along with so many important others."

After Spock's _fal tor pan_ , when Kirk said to them, "The next time better not be for a very long time, but if you want to respect what we just went through, make sure you get to Seleya when it's time. We want you to have that future. It's why we did everything, it's why… everything happened. It should tell you how much it means to us." And McCoy had vowed vengeance on "two certain Vulcans if they didn't listen to Jim making sense."

Her Spock now finished with a sad truth: "You and I do not have that, _aduna_. We can, however, have something else." He held out his hand to her. "We can be one in another way. No longer separate. More than touching and touched, more than never parted."

He said additional words through their bond and how his dark eyes looked into hers, waiting without judgment to see if she would do as he asked.

Her head turned to the children. They each nodded and because only the family was here, they each dropped their mental shields, the waves of it washing over her.

"Mother," T'Kel called. She reached for Amanda's necklace under her uniform and began putting it around Saavik's neck.

Saavik stopped her and went to place it again on T'Kel when she took her turn in stopping her mother. She went with her eyes to T'Pren. Saavik agreed by taking her oldest daughter's hand and pooling the chain and pendant into her palm.

T'Kel stood in front of her twin. "The one most like Grandmother should wear her necklace."

Saavik said goodbye to this life, her survivor's instinct quiet for the one person who could ask for this. She drew close to Spock, taking his hand, and he held her against him as their heads nestled together. At first, he held out two fingers and she touched them with hers; a gesture — a touch, a kiss — only a Vulcan and their _T'hi Myi_ could truly appreciate.

 _My heart to your heart._

They moved their hands to each other's faces and melded. All walls, all barriers, brought down so the other could pour in. Experiences they had in other melds went through and new ones were embraced.

And then…

They crossed the line of individuals into merging together. They weren't Spock and Saavik any longer, but a unique being of one. It went beyond _Kashkau wuhkuh eh teretuhr:_ 'our minds are joined together and as one'. It went beyond the profound significance and intimacy of _pon farr_ with the heart's mate: a joining of the mind, spirit, and the body that forged and strengthened a link that could never truly be broken, binding two souls on a profound level. That type of _pon farr_ , such as the ineffable bond between Saavik and Spock, was an intimacy much deeper than anything else.

And this went beyond all of that.

They could never be separated again.

They no longer felt their bodies or their surroundings. They knew only each other.

Spock/Saavik were one.


	37. Chapter 37

Vulcan, HIeSj fai-tukh shi'oren

(The Name of the Children's School)

Nachson beamed down outside the school – kneeling? - and Spock watched him hurry to join them. He signaled to be let in the separate entrance to the headmaster's office. Once S'Jenes opened it for the Tactical officer, he tried it himself. It was locked from the inside as well.

"Retina scan," the headmaster explained, "activated if security has been engaged. It is keyed to me and two others in the executive staff."

Saavik gave Kyle a quick gaze, curious on the time he spent with her older self. "We are added to the system. Temporarily. S'Jenes, Nachson must be added as well."

He agreed and began gathering the scan.

Kyle shot a look at the four large windows, two on either side of the door. They formed a wall. "What about these?"

"Sealed." S'Jenes finished adding him to the system. "Against forced entry or breakage."

Nachson asked Saavik, "When do we move?"

"We have two means of attack available. We favor going at the next class change in six point one eight minutes and containing Rhinar in this office."

"The other?"

"Seizing him next door immediately."

Nachson went down the entire wall of surveillance monitors in front of them. He whistled appreciatively. "Good system. You can see everything."

"In here, yes. Including the outside surveillance system, as well as this entrance and the office itself. It is not available separate from here and one other location for the assistant headmaster." Saavik gestured to the same screens showing the classrooms and the rest of the school. "We can also view our target."

The man sat in his chair, chatting with a couple of the office staff; even through a monitor, they could tell he radiated charm and intelligence. Spock estimated that, at best, Rhinar perpetuated his innocent cover story; at worst, he lined up further hostages if he needed them. He managed to appear as casual whenever he returned to looking at one of the walls that showed the classrooms.

"Unfortunately," Spock pointed them out, "Rhinar can see these as well. It is why we did not send anyone into the classes or divert them from their schedules."

 _Classroom security measures, however, are activated. He cannot see that._ The man who had brought all that pain to Setik.

"Fortunately," Saavik explained, "he has believed the teachers' statements that the children's lessons could not be interrupted."

Each teacher falsely elevated their lesson priority when S'Jenes told them what was going on. Spock watched as Setik's class studied prehistoric animals including an infant DSuuvSe that formed as a hologram, floor to ceiling. Plants as well as the ground, the murky sky, and the rest of the environment, sprung to life with it. The children's chairs disappeared into the floor and walls so they could move around and study the ancient world. The creature bent its head to examine the students, giving them a better look at it, before it walked into the next room who learned which life came from Vulcan's long gone primordial seas, the room 'flooding' so the children lived in the old ocean. The DSuuvSe stopped here for a moment, side by side with its flippered ancestor, then coordinated with the class above and raised its long neck so its head popped through the floor, its coloring changing to fit the children's story in T'Pren's and T'Kel's class.

All interesting lessons, but interruptible, which was why the girls and Setik answered Rhinar's summons the first time.

 _Not this time._ This time, his children were safe and would remain that way. Saavik still had plenty of resources to even without calling upon the people Rhinar knew.

"Morton," Saavik ordered. "Report."

Jake Morton's light brown hair and finely shaped beard were regulation, of course, but he followed Saavik's earlier order about no uniforms. He sported, instead, a loose black and white shirt with a kilt and a sporran pouch holding a phaser and a communicator. "We can't beam the target out. Some students have parents in diplomatic and other sensitive services. So, the school blocks transporters so no one's abducted."

"It explains," Spock said, "why Rhinar did not attempt beaming the children out of the school."

S'Jenes added, "We could shut it down. It will cause an additional issue, however."

"I didn't know if I could beam down," Nachson said. "But they told me you cleared this entrance."

Saavik reminded everyone, "If Rhinar gets outside, we must keep him within the transporter block."

Nachson answered the first point by echoing something Spock thought of earlier. "He might figure it out if we shut it down." He examined the other room, shaking his head. "It's a lot of hostages. That's why we're favoring attacking at the schedule break? Bring him here by himself."

His captain and Spock agreed. The only danger as far as hostages would be S'Jenes needing to escort Rhinar into his office. But the saboteur should let the headmaster leave; it was what he had done in the first timeline.

Morton complained to Saavik. "Rhinar's got to be planning to take the kids out through the door here. But how, with that lock? Phaser?"

"If so, he is armed." And S'Jenes became endangered again as well as she and her team. She looked at Spock. "Securing him here remains our best option."

"I concur. Allow Rhinar to think he has what he wants: the office to himself and the idea that Setik and the twins are answering his summons."

S'Jenes pointed out, "That is a further matter. You can see the children's actions on the room monitors. What will this man do when he sees Setik and your daughters are not coming here?"

Saavik answered by calling, "T'Kyss."

A young Vulcan crewwoman, the newest of Saavik's strays and dark in skin, long hair, and eyes, moved to the bank of monitors. "Computer," she called and ordered it to tie all school systems to it.

Spock explained as she worked, "We will switch the views on the displays at the next class change. It will appear our children are coming here. One will be copied to cover our own movements. The other classes will switch as well if they are meant to, so students will appear to go to their next room."

Saavik finished, "T'Kyss also shifts the views for the outside system, enough so it will appear no one except staff and students are there. Nachson, contact Tran now. He is to beam down with his team on your signal. You will be outside this entrance out of sight. When the word is given, he is to send personnel to each level of the school and meet you outside this door."

She turned to the remaining two people in the room; Spock did too. He gave Vysath a welcoming glance. The man had dedicated his life to T'Pau's Honor Guard; when she had died, he knew it was time for a different path, rather than continue with her successor. He married the woman who had waited for him over the decades and transferred to Vulcan's fleet. He grew his dark brown hair in and took all his daunting knowledge to his new life.

Commander T'Mes told Saavik he was on leave. So was T'Ratka standing next to him, before she rejoined her husband Soluk on Commander Stron's ships. Which meant Rhinar could study Saavik's Security staff all he wanted; these two didn't exist there.

Not to mention that while on leave, Vysath walked with his daughter to school and returned to walk her home, enjoying the serenity of his surroundings, the exercise, and his child. Spock and Saavik got hold of him before he left the school this morning.

Of course, he'd stay when his daughter was in a building with a kidnapper, but even without that, he'd be here. Taushan Rhinar threatened T'Pau's line.

They both put themselves under Saavik's command, so she told he and T'Ratka, "You will guard the classroom levels."

He bowed his head and T'Ratka agreed out loud. Her light tan coloring paled next to his warm caramel. In her impressionable youth, Spock remembered, she took on some of Saavik's habits, like the cursing. It had been… interesting.

Jake nodded. "Give me time for T'Kyss and me to go around so he doesn't see us. What position are you taking, ma'am?"

"Spock and I will go with you and take posts in the corridor until Rhinar is inside this office. We will then move into the outer area and ensure he takes no hostages in the staff. When he is contained, we enter the office."

The headmaster looked around the group. "If I may, your Security measures add to my existing thought on how strong a threat this man is. You stated he deceived your children once before."

"Your point?" Saavik warned. Spock would not have used such an edge, but he also didn't say anything against her using it. Not if their children were being insulted.

They weren't. "That speaks to his ability. The twins and Setik, like most children of service regardless of species, can subconsciously read body language in a way regular children typically cannot. Therefore, if this Rhinar uses the office exit, I will shut down the school."

Spock knew that statement held a lot of power to it. The school was of the latest design: it had a relocatable core function, where large circular pods swung out, some forming a column on each side as if the students themselves stacked it all together with their toys.

The relocatable function meant the pods could swing back into the central core, disconnecting any physically attached systems. Two smaller ships could then pull it up by a tractor beam and relocate it. The reasons for it all were lengthy, but S'Jenes intended a graver one. Pulled into itself, the school became inviolable. If Rhinar left the building, the headmaster would call for a full shutdown; if the man went inside, S'Jenes had already ordered the pods secured individually.

Kyle went over to T'Kyss, the one corner of his mouth pulled up. "You are so the new favorite."

She lifted a wry eyebrow at him. Not all of Saavik's strays knew each other well because of the differing reasons why they needed her to help them and for how long. Amanda's had been the same. But Nachson checked in with T'Kyss occasionally, alone or with Saavik, to see how she was.

So she understood his tone and returned it, best as she could. "It is not a competition."

He grinned back before his thoughts faded it. "Did you hear what this guy did?"

T'Kyss nodded.

"He's mine. That's only right," Nachson insisted.

Her eyes dashed between his. Her youth didn't stop her from grasping the – fraternity – with which he asked it. Neither did the fact she hadn't gone to the Academy; she had enlisted instead because its immediacy served her goal to get in Starfleet service faster.

Her eyes flicked to the captain and him again. "As long as it doesn't compromise the mission."

Morton agreed.

Saavik gave the signal for the VSE officers to move to the classroom levels. Vysath walked up to T'Kyss with a lengthy glance and then held out his hand in asking.

She went from him to Saavik and back, then reached down to her black pants with their decorative wide lines and small ornaments here and there of metal and beadwork. In the next second, she revealed it as a custom gun belt with the ornaments disguising Type 1 phasers and a dagger. She handed two of the phasers to the VSE officers who hid them in their own outfits.

Vysath bowed his head once more in respect and then swept his hand in a gesture indicating she should proceed them. T'Kyss got Saavik's permission to go, she was very new to the forces here so less recognizable, and S'Jenes announced from his door that the staff had a meeting at the next class change. The three officers made sure to answer with the office workers.

Spock thought briefly of how good it'd be for T'Kyss to study with Vysath, for several reasons, and then thought of nothing except what was about to happen in thirty seconds –

\- twenty

\- ten

 _"Hands," the adult Setik called and Saavik and Spock's bodies responded. He stretched his hand flat and slipped it between his parents, leaving room for his sisters and for his mother and father to still touch fingers over now adult sized hands. His life emptied into them, the one his mother knew and the one after she had to leave. Of growing up without her, of his father and grandparents and his mekh-rás, who were told who they were after Kirk and Scott were gone. Of Uncle Jim joking and calling him Bones Jr. and McCoy engraving it on his office door at the colony. Of rumors that he was either Sarek's or Spock's illegitimate child. Of building creditability that he was a cousin but still avoiding his young father. Of losing Imre, and Ssaalz and McCoy there for him, the way only another doctor could understand that loss. Of how Uncle Jim periodically updated his message to Saavik, once recording in front of the three children, "I'm ready to tell Sarek don't worry about it, because I'm going to give you and Spock a swift kick and ask you what the hell are you waiting for? What are you afraid of? Be like Sulu and Robert April, not like me." Of sneaking home to Vulcan, needing to see it. Of illogically going with his sisters to see their pet. Of sneaking a glance at their very young selves and reminisce. Of burying himself in a crowd for a concert rehearsal, and seeing a fresh young dancer named T'Qet. Of returning to see her, wanting to go up to her, be introduced, hand her his heart, but seeing her betrothed come to her, and knowing envy._

 _Then he stopped being an individual and became one with Spock/Saavik._

\- five

\- zero

Spock ran with Saavik's team around the building to come back in and station themselves outside the office. Nachson was right by the outside door and Tran beamed down. They signaled S'Jenes and he led Rhinar into his office; Spock heard the saboteur ask to see Setik and his sisters on the monitor. T'Kyss' machinations worked well as they heard from Rhinar's satisfied mutterings.

 _Control. He will not get the children. He will not repeat the pain he gave Setik._

The headmaster left his office and called his staff to their meeting; they filed down the corridor past Saavik's team to be safe at last. She leaned towards Spock. "Ready?"

He agreed and she gave Morton the order. They burst around the corner and to the office door, but Rhinar hadn't planned this far to be so easily caught. As they came in the office, he went out. Morton took the shot, but the man was gone.

"Nachson!" Saavik shouted and got no response. "Move!" she ordered next and they hit the other door with precision.

Tran and two others joined them from the opposite corner. Searching the grounds swiftly, they saw Rhinar running around the corner, Nachson on his heels.

Blocking their shot.

"What is he doing?" Saavik ground out.

Kyle disappeared after Rhinar and his captain took off after him. They only saw him disappear through another door. Tran grabbed it before it closed.

Saavik's communicator beeped. "Captain," Nachson whispered, "he's got a retina falsifier, probably with S'Jenes' scan."

"Bring him down!"

"Working on it, Captain!"

While Saavik told S'Jenes through her communicator to order the computers to not accept his access for the short term, Spock worked through on her thought. What was Nachson doing? This wasn't like him. Between Saavik's orders and the threat to the children, the man should have attacked Rhinar immediately.

Unless…

Saavik _was_ the one person Nachson heeded above all and her older version hadn't come back with him. She still existed. Where then was she?

 _T'Kel put her hand between her brother and mother so her life would join theirs. A life of rebelling against a mother who wasn't there. Of growing up and understanding. Of meeting Ante and believing his fire was what she needed, the only time she clashed with her twin. Of them ending and his agreeing to forget her, T'Pren removing the memories to protect them all. Of the Contact failing after so many decades of providing their people shelter, a hospital, and protection. Of how both Uncle James and Imre convinced her to put on Saavik's command uniform and give everyone the uplifting note as she took her mother's chair on the last orbiting flight, the captain's seat then moved to the colony's Council chambers. Of losing Grandmother, the maternal figure in their lives with Saavik gone, standing by her bedside with Father who lived it twice. Of losing Uncle Scotty and hearing him tell her as he left for the Norpin Colony, "I'm nae gone for good, lass. It's only retirement. I just wish I could hand over the Enterprise's engine room to ye." Of Uncle Jim gone and his last words, "I'm not pushing Command if it's not what you want." Then his grin, "But it suits you." Of the pain from all the losses driving her to contact Rrelthiz, her Ko-mekh-rá, who later told T'Kel, "I giggle when I see Friend Saavik now. She is terribly unprepared for you, little one!" Of later smuggling Ssaalz to see her mother, something the colony frowned on because of the danger._

 _She became one with her family._

Spock glanced up for one second and saw the classroom pods rollback into the building. T'Kyss leaned out a window and watched the rest of the team pile through the doorway. She ducked back inside, guarding her section, and Spock followed his wife.

They stood underneath the building in a storage area that ran the full length of the school above. Saavik focused on her hearing and her head jerked up. "Tran, cover the entrances."

Spock took the Security Chief's place with Saavik. She pointed with her chin and began weaving around the crates. Nachson popped up and handed his captain a tricorder.

"I lost visual on Rhinar when we came down here. But I remembered," he rushed through so Saavik couldn't give him hell, "the other you said he used crates. The school has a shipment on an automatic schedule. He's got to be in one of these boxes. I did a scan, but he's shielded them. Doesn't matter, we'll find the ones he's got for the _Contact_."

She gave the order to Tran and then stared hard at Nachson. "You owe me an explanation."

Kyle matched her stare. "I ain't gonna lose this guy. Promise."

Spock picked up on his speech pattern's degradation to his Frontier life. Failing Saavik would cause it, which brought back the question again. What was he playing at?

 _T'Pren did not need to touch her family because their energy grew so powerful, but she wanted to as the last thing she did, so she put her hand in its place with her brother and sister. Her katra followed its natural pull to connect and join with her twin first. They became one again, since the time they separated from being a single girl in their mother's womb. Then she united with the entire family, giving herself to be one in life. A life of how Grandmother doing what she could to fill in for their missing mother, leading she and T'Kel through the women's rites as they grew like she had for Saavik. Of Grandfather's look as he sponsored her for a diplomatic appointment, her father having the same expression from where he watched in the background. Of everyone coming to see her as she was sworn into the colony's governing council made up of the command officers and the diplomats. Of Csala coming up to her after Sarek pinned the diplomatic signet on his granddaughter, telling her, "I promised Amanda I would watch over you when she cannot be here." Of having to watch her twin running to the man who would never be the one for her and having to help T'Kel heal. Of running to her Ko-mekh-rá Hunter and Sa-mekh-rá Ruanek from losing Uncle Jim and Grandmother, hearing Amanda record the message to the time traveling Saavik, shaking her head, eyes gleaming. "You lied to me. I won't see your wedding." She struggled to make do. "At least, I know it happens." Then with force, she pushed it down and lightened her voice. "Do you know how hard it was to look T'Pau in the eye after your children put her in a Winnie the Pooh song?"_

 _The family was one._

Nachson peeled off in one direction, Saavik and Spock in another. The Vulcans went swiftly through sections, eliminating entire groups by their labels marking them for storage at the school. Rhinar would _have_ to tag his for transport or he would miss his chance to get on Saavik's ship. By Spock's calculations, the _Contact_ would stop loading cargo in 22.398 minutes. He grabbed a manifest: the school's shipments were scheduled for beaming out in 13.71 minutes.

What if Rhinar had hijacked the ship to the point it would go on automatics into the slingshot warp? If they didn't catch him here and he got aboard the _Contact_ , would it still go, even with Imre ordering against their leaving Vulcan? If so, Rhinar would not have the children…

…but he could abduct Amanda. Or – Spock recalled what his younger self and father said – Rhinar could kidnap the earlier Spock on the _Enterprise_ and hold his timeline hostage.

He and Saavik picked up their pace when they heard a large _bang_ followed by Nachson's voice.

"Got him! Jax, get over here!"

Spock and Saavik ran to his spot too and had their phasers aimed at the large crate as Kyle opened it and jumped back.

Nothing.

Something large scurried at the exit that Jaxon Tran had guarded until Nachson called him away.

The Security Chief apologized immediately. "I shouldn't have left it open like that, Captain."

She urged him after Rhinar and then stared down Kyle once more. He spoke first and Spock noted that nothing could undo the determination in Nachson's tight jawline.

"Told you, Captain. This guy's goin' down."

She brought his gaze to include Spock. "Our _children_ are a target here."

"I can't forget that. Ever. You know what else? You're a target. You and the ambassador. I ain't forgettin' that either." He leaned in closer. "You gotta trust me, cuz in the end, I serve you. That don't change."

Something brushed Spock's psi senses, something barely there, like a mental touch but at a distance. How was it he felt it, whoever it was? It grew in power and his bond to his wife told him it was her older self.

And yet, not her. The touch held flavors of… him? The children? How?

 _Perhaps she meditates. Her touch is calm. And she broadcasts the family bond._

He would do the same in her place.

Saavik said nothing to Nachson, trust didn't always need words, so she simply turned and looked back to see if he was with her. That frozen second where his wife stood calm and a warrior with a woman's roundness, her dark eyes intent with the all-important lives she'd save, and a bronze green flush along her cheeks. Just like the first time years ago when he was struck by the realization Saavik was a _woman._

Or perhaps he thought of it because of the mental brush of the family bond from the other version, like he whispered in his own ear with the same message he once gave McCoy: "Remember."

 _Of how he was on the Enterprise, that so young version of himself. Of how he asked his older self, "Do you still have my memories?" How he asked Kirk, McCoy, and his parents if they had guessed right about his wife. Of how McCoy teased Kirk, but Amanda and Sarek simply said they had. Of how he kept trying to piece together who she could be out of the women he knew. Of watching the one part of the Contact head for warp, the saucer section left behind, and wondered what part did his wife stay on. How his mind drifted to the woman again as she had been doing. How much she impressed him, how he called her that and admirable. Of that initial sight of her, how she struck him as, 'Beautiful. So very beautiful,' and how she knew exactly what he needed to hear with such innate understanding. How he wanted to speak with her more, but… but she kept him at a distance. How she did come close to him, twice; once in fear of his life and the second to say in Vulcan, so it was private, how much it meant to know him, even if only shortly. Of how he found her wounded and wanted so much to scoop her up and run to Sickbay with her pressed to his chest. Of how he'd be that one she allowed herself to lean on and he with her. Of his wish, if only he was not the only one she kept at bay because she was so good with his older self and T'Kel. How outspoken she was, at the same time so good with his mother. How her forthrightness was rather like T'Kel's brusqueness, and his older self saying T'Kel was like her mother, and Rhinar teasing, "You two bickering is very interesting…"_

 _Of how it came to him with her ship gone and the stars in his eyes. How something about how he looked around made Kirk say, "You figured it out." Of how Amanda asked him, "Well?" and he nodded strongly. How McCoy teased, "You know, Jim got this wrong, so why don't you tell us who you think it is." Of how they had him write it down, and he mentally spoke her name as if it were her ahtía name and he had the privilege of calling her his. Of how he imagined doing nothing more than being with her, imagined her with him everywhere until the time came for him to ask, "Will I be your choice?" How she, his real wife, would whisper with that husky voice and burning eyes when he came to her for pon farr, "To you, my husband, I consecrate all that I am. As it was in the dawn of our days, as it will be for all tomorrows. Never parted. Always touching and touched. Two bodies, one mind." How pon farr was no longer something to be reviled. Of how he asked his older self with a vehemence about her and shared his secret longing, "I want to talk to her now. I have gone from avoidance to anticipation to eagerness. It is illogical, but the thought of this wait is too great." Of how the children approached him, giving him the chance he almost missed, and then his older self had told him the memories of all of it must be suppressed to safeguard their future._

Spock reeled inside at the rush of memories. He'd identified himself with the person they called the older Spock. The one who left Vulcan right now and lived that day of nightmares and heaven.

He was wrong. He was the younger Spock, the one who initially ran from the idea of becoming who he was today. Then he had turned around in his mind – and his heart. He wanted to protect the children, he wanted to know who would call him husband, and knew he'd find the steps towards peace.

He needed to find a way to save the memories and he wished he could thank the older Saavik for opening the door on these suppressed ones.

It all happened in the time it took Saavik to go from looking at Nachson and facing front again. She caught the change in her husband's expression and asked with her own if he was all right. He answered by going to her shoulder and out the door with her. They caught up with Tran in a couple seconds and didn't see Rhinar anywhere. Shots from a phaser got everyone's attention and they broke into a hard run around the side. That was when Spock noticed Nachson missing; he said nothing to Saavik. She most likely knew.

The sight around the corner made even the Vulcans blink. Rhinar attempted getting back into the school while three levels up, T'Kyss herded him from the entrance with phaser fire. Suddenly, he stumbled backward and Spock could now see inside the door's alcove. Nachson stood there, waiting, and he walked out so the saboteur could see him better. He held his arms out to the sides to show he held no weapons.

He yelled up to T'Kyss without looking at her. "I got this, Ky."

T'Kyss pulled back into what must be an empty room; no sounds came out and Spock wondered if Vysath had cleared that side of the building to not scare or risk the students.

"Here I am," Kyle told Rhinar. "You want the Contact, you want those kids? Take your shot."

The saboteur drew a phaser and Saavik leveled hers. Except Nachson circled around and got in the way again.

"I lied. You ain't getting them." He walked straight at him, slowly. "What's the matter? I thought you were tough. You were one time in your life."

 _Time_ _._

Spock put a part of his mind to work on the Time Planet and being able to remember other timelines.

Taushan Rhinar snarled at Nachson, "You're outclassed! Her stray mutt, nothing more!"

Kyle flashed white teeth. "Best title in the world." He turned his back on Rhinar. "I hear you're pretty brave jumping somebody from the back."

Tran bringing up his phaser around Kyle sent the saboteur into a run for another entrance and this time, Nachson ran at full speed, cutting him off. Rhinar shoved him, but Vysath came out the door and flung the man far away from the school. He got up and started struggling away.

The hum of transporters sounded and the telltale column of sparkling light formed outside the school's boundary. A tall woman, gray long hair with an eagle's feather trailing on her shoulder, eyed Rhinar with a destructive grin. "Forget us?"

A Carreon woman came up from behind Saavik, neon blue in her stripes and eyes where her daughter Ssaalz's were green.

"Rrelthiz! How are you here?"

"The other three had to be on the starship, Friend Saavik, to go to Babel." She kept walking to circle Rhinar. "Not us, however."

Us, Spock thought, so one more. That would mean the person he had tried reaching when they beamed down to the school but got no answer from him. He must have been meeting with Hunter and Rrelthiz because he had no other reason to be at the school. His eldest child didn't start until next term.

Saavik signaled her people to back up the two newcomers and aimed her own phaser to protect her former captain and her friend. "How did you know?"

The Carreon didn't answer her; she shouted at Rhinar, gesturing with her talons. "I am T'Kel's Ko-mekh-rá, her sworn benefactor. Do you know how many offworlders are honor bound to one of my people? Only Friend Saavik. To me. Did you think those vows meant nothing to me? The one to her, to the little one?"

Captain Hunter called, "I'm T'Pren's Ko-mekh-rá. The kids are bound to our minds, so it was pretty stupid to think we wouldn't be around. And as for McCoy, Sulu, and Uhura, they've just shoved the entire fleet at Spock and Saavik's beck and call. Ask the Klingons what I can do in a lot bigger battle than this."

Was this what the older Saavik had done and why she told Kyle Nachson to play cat and mouse? To track down the children's mekh-rás and send them to help? Although he didn't remember the Carreon and the former captain being near Vulcan.

Hunter called to Nachson, "You talked to them."

He half-glanced to his captain, but couldn't finish it. "Yeah. You too?"

"Last few years. So, we knew what they planned."

Saavik demanded an answer and Rhinar took off seeing them distracted. Rrelthiz and Hunter let him go. The retired Aerfen captain, in fact, waved him off with another feral grin, into –

A very large Vulcanoid man.

"Rhinar!" Hunter called. "Meet Ruanek!"

Former Commander of the Romulan Star Empire until he sacrificed everything to bring home a Spock suffering deeply from pon farr when he couldn't get to Saavik on his own. Because of that friendship and what he could teach the part-Romulan children, Saavik and Spock made him T'Pren's Sa-mekh-rá. He came out of the school. "Sounds like you did forget about us," he told the saboteur. "But we've been waiting to take you down for a long time."

Spock watched Saavik's eyes sweep everywhere, reevaluating her strategy with the latest wildcard thrown at her with Ruanek and the others here. Not to mention, how they acted on a plan of their own without including her or himself and jarred with Tran, Morton, and the VSE team.

Except it was Spock and Saavik's children at ground zero. They would never be pushed aside in the defense of those three young lives. Arguing security with Saavik, especially his and the children's, was an exercise in futility. Everyone here knew it, and so, she gestured to him while calling out to the others, organizing their attack.

But Rhinar exploited the disorderly approach of the children's guardians before she could shore up the holes and disappeared back into the building unchallenged. Spock remembered the school's shipment was scheduled in under two minutes.

Saavik immediately got the VSE team and T'Kyss into play from inside the school and sent Tran in from the field. Morton and the remaining Starfleet team were ordered to the entrances into the school.

Then her eyes drilled into the others before she started to go into the building.

"Trust us," Hunter called to her, long gray hair blowing in a breeze. Her narrow eyes confident - like her former science officer's.

"Captain to captain?" Saavik called back.

Hunter's head shook no. "Mother to mother." And she motioned with her head to include Rrelthiz and then to Ruanek as a father.

Spock had no time for further discussion and started going into the building with his wife when Rhinar was driven from it once more, Tran following him, T'Ratka and T'Kyss calling Saavik's communicator that they were holding their places.

"Friend Saavik!" Rrelthiz shouted. "Do what you do!"

Saavik contacted everyone in the building followed by the ones outsides, weaving them all into a network to shut the enemy down. Then, she took a leap of faith and ordered her people to wait for the word to be given and put the reins in the others' hands.

Nachson turned as he cut off their enemy again and Spock met the Tactical Officer's eyes. The saboteur could still get away; time had not been fixed.

But it could be and it would be soon.

"Saavik." It'd take too long to explain. Spock held a hand over the psi points on her face and then made contact. He found his wife also felt that brush of the other Saavik broadcasting the family bond, but it held no new memories as it had for him. Logical, as they were the same person with no changes in their historic timeline.

He used that mental brush and the other Saavik's sense of another time to be the substitute of the Guardian's touch that had protected both Kirk and him from losing their memories of the other timelines.

He wrapped all his considerable telepathic skills around his and Saavik's minds. He took them through each memory they had of that other life as they lived it, plus the new ones he just found, and placed it into their long term memory, securing each one with the ones from their own lives. All under the connection of them to that time.

The intricate, shielding net Saavik kept around the family came alive on the field. Tran called out to Nachson, and Rhinar broke past them to snatch his phaser from the ground. He aimed at Spock and Saavik. "Take me on board the Contact," he ordered the closing circle, "or I kill the captain and the ambassador!" To prove it, he fired at their circle sending them to the ground.

The Security Chief brought up his weapon, Ruanek charged like the entire Empire joined together, Rrelthiz leaped to him, using him as a jumping point, and Kyle broke speed records to fling himself between Rhinar, Saavik, and Spock. Nachson yanked his own phaser – far from unarmed, after all – and aimed at the saboteur who fired at him. The shot just missed, striking the ground right in front of him. He fell off balance into Saavik and his eyes turned distant.

Spock only heard the rest.

Ruanek spoke, his voice resigned. "It's all we can do." Then, "Jolan'tru."

"Yosca," said Rrelthiz with a warble on the end.

"Goodbye," and Hunter rebalanced like she was back on the Aerfen's bridge, the first, and very young, woman captain in Starfleet. "Tran, it's all yours."

T'Kyss called from above, no doubt bearing down with a phaser, "In position."

T'Ratka entered the grounds with the swish of a door opening and closing. Vysath came through like lightning that Spock felt instead of heard.

Tran called out, "I'm calling it!"

And Saavik's net came down around Rhinar's ears.

He tried to break free but the mixture of Starfleet, VSE, the Romulan and the Carreon rushed in, Morton and the remaining two streaming out of the school until no gaps big enough existed between them.

Rhinar tried one last time by diving for his phaser and aiming it at Rrelthiz, the only civilian in the group. But she leaped towards him instead of away and so did Tran and Ruanek. The Security Chief brought Rhinar down with a blow to the jaw.

Time reverted.

 _The family by the lake, their hands all touching together, as joined as they themselves were, disappeared._

 _They never existed._

Tran looked down at the pale man on the ground rubbing his jaw. "What the hell's going on? I was in my office."

Nearly everyone appeared totally confused, especially Hunter and Rrelthiz who didn't remember coming to Vulcan.

They were all confused except for Kyle. He sat up from where he leaned against Saavik and looked as puzzled as everyone else, but it partially cleared. He'd never really recall.

But he knew enough. His phaser stayed aimed at Rhinar's head. "I remember - you attacked our ship and the captain. And those kids!"

Rhinar snarled back, "You don't know anything!"

"I got the bare idea."

Saavik and Spock shared a last look as their fingers moved away. And then, their mouths moved into small smiles no one else could see.

Spock raised his voice. "And we have all of it." His and Saavik's shadows fell over the group as they walked up with the sun behind them.

Rhinar lunged at them, but Tran and Nachson grabbed him. "No! You can't stop this! What about my children?! What about our world?!"

Saavik ordered him taken into custody to Orbital Command, Interrogation level code, Full Dimension, and was about to contact Imre when he called her.

"Captain, is everything all right? I turned around and you were gone."

"I will debrief you in full, Commander." In the meanwhile, she explained they had a prisoner and she needed to speak with numerous people. Commander T'Mes to take their diplomatic parties to the celebration, and Starfleet Command plus Ambassador Sarek's ship to let them know _Contact_ wasn't going to Babel.

"We're not?"

"We will return to the shipyards. Sabotage, Imre. I will explain in the debriefing."

Imre made a sound of disbelief. "That's got to be a record for the shortest amount of time a starship left and had to go back."

Spock promised an explanation to Ruanek, Rrelthiz, and Hunter, and suggested they go to the _Contact_ so he and Saavik could explain to everyone at once. They made comments, mostly joking, so it was a good sign as they moved outside the transporter block boundaries and beamed up, taking the VSE officers with them.

Nachson stayed behind, his face screwed up. "Captain."

Spock watched his wife eye the man.

"Saavik." As far as Spock knew, Nachson never used her name before. He sounded raw and looked worried. He rubbed his head like something was under the surface that he could almost grab. "I feel like there's - Did I… put Setik in danger or… let you down? Because I'd rather die."

Saavik nearly flinched at the last word, but after it, she was almost smiling. She had remembered, her husband saw, an unbroken fact: she trusted him. "You did not 'let me down'. Quite the opposite, Kyle." He smiled at his name. "We are, as always, indescribable and forever, and forever has no end."

 _How true_ , Spock thought.

"Is that a quote?" Kyle asked.

"A paraphrase."

Now Nachson could grin. "Captain, my captain."

She gave him back a wry look. "You know the captain died in that poem."

"That's why I don't go past the first line."

She shook her head at him but kept her eyes on his. "Return to the _Contact_. I will join you shortly. - One last thing." He turned back, communicator in hand. "You and Thalla sh'Shytral. You are ready."

A slow, beaming smile rose over his face. "Yeah?" He looked at his captain. "Yeah! Bimo! One to beam up!"

Spock faced the school and thought about needing to go inside and inform a more than likely confused S'Jenes about what happened. Where Setik and the twins had no idea of the battle for them before or after Rhinar's capture. But he waited and was rewarded for it.

Saavik came to his side and leaned into him. He put his arm around her. The sight of her in the sun, so Saavik, so his mate. He saw her with the eyes of both Spocks who watched the vision of her on the Enterprise's viewscreen. The Spock who got to call her his and the younger one who was struck by her.

But his were the eyes she looked up into now with one of those marital looks that said they got through another trying time. So, this Spock pulled her tighter to his side.

More work awaited them and immediately, but for the moment they stopped to just stand there. The fight was over; the family was safe and together.


	38. Chapter 38

_Sometime later_

 **Frubrian Space**

Klaxons sounded shrilly in each of the Orion pirate ships. A Federation starship flew rapidly around the planet, the sun at its back turning it into an avenging angel's silhouette. A ray of light cut over the hull and revealed a name: USS _Armstrong_.

One starship against three pirates, but no one stupidly assumed the Orions could win this match. Which was why Captain Truman Howes smiled at them from the viewscreen like a gracious host.

"A very great friend of mine, my former first officer as a matter of fact, told me we'd find you here. Her word is always good. Then you add in Ambassador Sarek and Ambassador Spock and you can understand why the Federation Council has expanded our patrols. So, from now on, expect to see a lot more of us, and when we can't be here, you'll find someone else from the Fleet."

"And while you're picking out new targets because Frubria isn't worth it anymore, plot a course home instead. Starfleet has made you and anyone like you a top priority. We're shutting you down. Do I need to fire these fully charged phasers or did I make myself clear?"

 **Vulcan, Academy Complex**

Nachson pulled his chair to the same distance from the handrail as Setik's so they were even. He then stretched out his legs, using the rail as a footrest, and laced his fingers behind his head.

"This is it," he said to the Vulcan boy. "Now we just watch the world go by."

The world, in this case, was the people outside the transparent aluminum wall where they sat. Since they were in one of the lounges of the Diplomatic and Linguistics Services main building, it meant a lot of species went by as well as Vulcans.

A deep voice suddenly asked, "We heard you were here. What are you two doing?"

Kyle glanced over to the Tran brothers, out of uniform like him. After all, the _Contact_ was at the 40 Eridani-A Shipyards, swarmed over by Starfleet personnel making sure she was safe. A debate raged over whether the ship should get any newer systems while in dock since she just got new systems. The only thing everyone agreed on was the auto-destruct codes were changed and the system was moved to the new palm print instead of retinal scans. And Saavik got her additional chairs on the battle bridge.

She also had a second wall sculpture for the main rec area; this one was a ship's emblem for the _Contact_ like those Starfleet used to make. Suppo and another of her departments tackled it, happy to postpone their leave until it was done. They hung it up today.

All _Contact_ crew were granted leave, compliments of the captain, with Vulcan's Space and Exploration force helping fill in the duty shifts at Orbital Command and the ports. It gave them a break after the extensive hours they did in working with the shipyards already and might need to do more soon.

Kyle patted the back of the boy's chair. "I'm showing Setik the human male ability to do nothing."

Caleb spoke this time. "I can get behind that."

The two brothers grabbed chairs and pulled them up, putting Setik between Jaxon and Kyle.

"Now what do we do?" the boy asked.

"Nothing," Jaxon explained.

"May I think while we do nothing?" he questioned innocently.

"Sure, you can," Caleb agreed. He put his hands on his stomach rather than behind the head. "You probably have to with the mind you have. But for us, it's just about nothing. At most, kind of little, shallow things. You can share them with other males too. Like I might say, look at that attractive woman."

Setik watched him so he didn't see the young adult T'Qet, his future wife, walk by with her mother. And with his face turned away, her mother could not see the features he inherited from his father when she idly looked inside the building as she spoke with her daughter.

Jaxon said, "If he did say that, then the other males answer, but also casually. Like this." He slowly nodded in agreement with his brother while Kyle gave a, "Yeah, exotic."

The older Tran continued, "If you do more than that, it can't count as nothing. See?"

Setik frowned with thought and then returned to lounging in his chair. "Mmm hmmm," he muttered. The three men lazily gave him approval for that. After a beat, he said, "My mother is meeting me here. If she sees us—"

He received a chorus of easy going predictions of Saavik's reaction.

Nachson said next, "It's a good point, Setik. Sooner or later, someone always interrupts you. Some people will shout at you that you're doing nothing. If it's another human male, they get it."

"Why are you sitting around!" came Imre's enraged shout.

Kyle smiled at the boy. "But not always. Hey, Commander, the kid is going to see Dr. McCoy soon and he needs to know how to sit on a porch and do this. Doctor's orders."

Imre emphatically waved that off. He pulled at the sleeves of his black suit with a snow white shirt. "Do that later. I need your help."

Thalla slipped by the first officer with a, "Excuse me, Commander," to kiss Nachson firmly. Since her mouth wasn't sensitive like a human's, he reached to stroke the base of her antennae in an Andorian kiss. "I like us being public."

"Damn!" Caleb exclaimed. "That talk about you two is true?!"

Imre interrupted that as well. "I said, I need your help! I'm proposing to Ami tonight—"

"OK, I knew about them," Caleb said to his brother. "I still missed that it got this far. You got somebody you're hiding?"

Setik stood up and his eyes went around the adult males. "Should we still be doing nothing?"

"No," Thalla answered firmly. "Idiots, why is he the only one who's up and looking to help?"

The men stood too after that comment and Imre sent the Andorian a look of deep thanks. Kyle placed a hand on Setik's shoulder. "It's okay. Humans can get nervous before asking someone to marry them. It's normal."

But Imre waved his hands in an emphatic _No_. "It's more than that. I had everything planned. My family went to her family to get permission. I got her a ring." He pulled a box out of his jacket pocket. "Dinner at Kaapi's and then the outlook at the Morlobae Wilderness Preserve. It's gorgeous, Ami loves it there. That's where I was going to propose. But they're redoing the building, it's closed!"

Caleb didn't help. "They're probably not working at night. Go anyway."

"That's romantic! Here, wear a construction helmet, Ami. Are you kidding me?!"

Jaxon whispered in an aside to Setik, "See what Kyle meant about nerves?" Louder, he suggested, "Just do it at the restaurant. Get down on one knee—"

"And look right up her skirt. Propose while acting like a pervert. C'mon!"

"Is this a height thing?" Nachson asked. "I always said I'd help with that. Give me the ring. I'll handle this for you."

Caleb perked up. "Hey, we should all go. We all propose to her in different ways! That makes an impression."

Kyle said to the boy, "Setik, this will be good for you. You can see some of the traditions. The commander already said a few of them because of his and Miss Kanta's backgrounds."

Imre snarled, "I am freaking out here, people, and you think it's a big joke! What am I supposed to do?"

"May we be of assistance?"

Imre slowly turned at the august voice. All the humans and Thalla did. Setik called brightly, " _Na'shaya, Sa'mekh'al_."

" _Tonk'peh, t'nash-veh sa-fu-il_." Sarek stood in between and slightly ahead of the women in his family: Saavik, who eyed her crew dryly, and his wife, Perrin. T'allendil, Sotraun, and Sarek's aide Strahan formed the rear of the group. "Daughter?"

Saavik gave her people one more glance as if she weighed admitting she knew them. Her deep red-orange dress, like a setting sun, wrapped differently at the top than the part around her hips. "My officers, Father."

She introduced them one by one. The venerable ambassador greeted Nachson with familiarity and with a word to each of them of how his daughter-in-law spoke of them. "Including you, Commander Imre. Saavik counts herself fortunate to have found you as her first officer and has informed me of what you did for Setik in the other timeline."

Imre bowed his head. "I would do the same here, sir. We come to serve. I'm only glad it's not necessary."

"You honor us, Commander. The family is at your disposal. Perhaps we may begin with the difficulty you experience now?"

"Yes, Grandfather," Setik offered on behalf of the group. "With the Morlobae Wilderness Preserve."

Imre pushed a smile. "Nothing to bother you with, Ambassador."

Kyle broke in, speaking to Sarek as simply another male. "He's going to propose to his lady tonight, sir. But the Preserve's outlook isn't available, so he's trying to think of another romantic spot that'll work."

Imre ground out, " _Kyle_!"

"What? It's their planet. They should know the best spots."

Perrin grinned. Her dress of gold and white went well with her strawberry blonde hair and pale skin. "He's right. You can say romantic to them."

The 'them' – Saavik, T'allendil, Sarek, Strahan, and Sotraun – had their heads together during this. They pulled apart and straightened.

"We agree," Saavik said. "You want The Ma'jaun Vista." She suddenly leaned forward to Strahan once more.

Sarek steepled his hands in front of him. "You will find it equal if not surpassing the Preserve's outlook. Do you plan for another location before the Vista?"

Imre swallowed. "Yes, sir. Kaapi's. It's my girlfriend's favorite."

"Excellent choice. You will find, however, that no public transportation will take you to the Vista. It is private land."

The first officer deflated, visions of tromping the love of his life through someone's backyard filling his expression. "So, we walk from the stop?"

Sarek lifted his brows. "On the contrary, Strahan is arranging for a personal car to be waiting for you at the restaurant. It will take you to Ma'jaun."

So excited that he already forgot who was there, Imre clapped his hands. "She's going to love that!" He remembered the Vulcan party. "Sir. ...You said private land. Do I have to get permission or a permit to go there?"

Saavik's dry look grew. "That is also being settled now."

He blew out a breath. "Thank you! Who is it? How long do you think it will take?"

Sotraun's deep octavist tones sounded like a gong. "The land is my family's and has been for thousands of your years."

Sarek explained, "It borders our own land, from the days when our ancestors first allied with each other."

Nachson asked, "And you'd say it's romantic?"

" _Kyle_! _"_ Imre begged and Thalla joined him.

But Perrin smiled again. "It worked on me." She held out joined fingers to Sarek.

Nachson, having been proved right, looked at Sotraun. "Did you ask your wife there?"

"We were betrothed at seven," the large Vulcan explained. "I did, however, take her there to ask if she chose me for her mate now that she knew me. For she was my choice."

Imre unconsciously crossed his fingers. "And?"

"She said yes."

The smaller human blew out his breath. "All right, two for two. Please, don't anyone say anything else. I'm afraid to jinx it."

"The rest," Sarek said from experience, "is for you, Commander Imre. Or perhaps it is better said that it is for your lady."

"Captain," Nachson spoke up, "before you go, I need to take leave. I gotta go to Andor." His shoulders set and his chin came up. "I have a declaration to make."

Caleb gave a _Whoa_ under his breath.

Thalla shook her head, eyes wide, and antennae moving about. "No, you don't."

His stance firmed. "Yeah, I do. Last time with your family, I'm just the human you bring around to drive people crazy. This is different and I got to let them know I'll do right by that."

Her feelers couldn't still. "Kyle! My family is _very_ traditional. We need to ease into this. Right now, they're kind of hoping you'll… go away."

"That's why I got to do this, Hally. Show respect, show commitment. I'm not blue and I have no antennae or an honorable family, but I have that."

Any other protests made his jaw set tighter and his arms fold over his chest. Saavik intervened and no one could accuse a Vulcan of laughter, although the something in her eyes… rather like T'Pren's light that she inherited from Amanda. "I find it best, Lieutenant sh'Shytral, to simply accept it and brace yourself."

"But, ma'am, you don't get it! My family is really old fashioned and I'm bringing home an alien!" Thalla suddenly took in who she was talking to; in fact, what _family_ she was talking to. Her blue turned purple with a blush.

Saavik managed to make her dry tone even drier. "There is an expression. 'It could be worse.'"

"It could?" Thalla's expression stated she doubted it.

"You could be bringing home a Vulcan."

Thalla's antennae shot straight up at the reference to the old prejudices between Andor and the captain's people as the humans bit their lips and the other Vulcans canted their heads.

"Lucky us." Imre glanced around the crew. "We get to work for the funny Vulcan."

Perrin snorted while T'allendil and Sotraun were completely nonplussed.

Saavik returned to what started this. "You are already on leave, Mr. Nachson, unless you are asking to extend it. Inform me if that is correct once you establish your plans. The same is true for you, Mr. sh'Shytral." Her brows ascended at the Andorian's splutter. "You did not request it, but you surely are not letting him go alone?"

Thalla looked back into her lover's eyes, seeing the man she had chosen.

"As I thought. Setik," Saavik reminded her son, "I will return to walk home with you. Wait for me."

The Andorian jumped in, sharing a look with Nachson. "Actually, Captain, we thought we'd walk him home. Give us a chance to talk." She smiled at Setik. "Kyle always says you're one of the best people he knows. You and your sisters."

The boy looked up at the man. "That is kind."

"In fact, Captain." Thalla presented herself in front of Saavik. "I wondered if you would be home shortly, ma'am, and if you are, if you wouldn't mind me waiting to talk to you." She met her eye to eye. "I have a declaration to make."

Imre whistled soundlessly as his eyes flicked from the Andorian to Kyle.

Saavik gave Thalla the respect that statement deserved. "Understood. By all means, be welcome to our house and I will meet you within two hours. Setik? Thalla sh'Shytral has become a guest-friend to the family. You understand your duties until someone older is home?"

Setik straightened. "Yes, Mother." The trio left, their voices drifting back. "I will introduce you formally to the twins and you can meet Ko-Kan. She is our pet and guardian. We can also give you a tour of the house and the garden. What declaration do you have to make to Mother?"

Thalla gazed over his head at Kyle. "I have to say it to your mother first. But, you know, I think I need to make one to you and your sisters too. One that's just for you."

"That sounds promising. He once made one to me. I was a year old. Is yours similar?"

Jaxon smiled, his hands on his hips as he watched them go. "Who saw that one coming?" He glanced at Imre. "You all set now?"

"I think so. I just," he gestured with his hands, "got to calm down."

"You're going to mess this up. Let us do it so it's done right."

Caleb reached for the box in Imre's hand. "Just give us the ring."

Imre said in ferocious warning, "I will _hurt_ you." As he shifted on his feet in reply to the Trans mock frightened looks, he caught sight of Sarek and cursed himself, obviously thinking he screwed up. "Ambassador–"

"I understand your position quite thoroughly, Commander. My reaction would have been similar." Imre covered his stunned feeling. "We wish you good fortune this evening."

The family with T'allendil and Sotraun walked away radiating dignity.

"Yeah," he mumbled. "Me too."

Saavik looked back over her shoulder and gave him a short, encouraging nod.

"Commander." Imre turned back and saw Jaxon holding out his hand with a smile. They shook. "It's going to be perfect. She'll love it."

Caleb took his hand next. "I'm going to say good luck, but you don't need it. She's going to say yes."

"Right." Imre slowly smiled. "Right!" This time tomorrow, he and Ami could be picking out his engagement ring and planning the ceremony with their families where both rings would be officially put on their right hands. Then, one day, a ring on their left. If she only said yes tonight.

Imre smiled at the thought and gave a big exhale. "Well, I got a couple hours. I thought it'd take all that time to figure out what to do. Now I need to get out of my own head."

The Tran brothers exchanged glances and Jaxon then swept his hand to the empty chairs. "You interrupted us doing nothing."

They clasped grips in a loud clap. "Perfect." Imre took Setik's seat and stretched out next to the older Tran.

"Hey," Jaxon suddenly interrupted. "Sorry, but did you hear Kyle this morning? He said we need to find an Ante Ryan. He thinks the guy's going to do something to the captain's family."

"Think again," Imre told the unknown Ryan. "You'll have to come _through us_ if you want them."

 **Vulcan, Sarek's Office**

Saavik followed Sarek into his office and turned down his offer to sit down for right now. She wanted to be more at hand than the pair of davenports that stood perpendicular to his desk. Perrin stood by one of the large windows, looking outside.

For many years, the room used a warm palette including the orange, gold, and black drape that Amanda had placed on the one sofa. It had worked well with a tapestry on the wall given to Sarek by a fellow ambassador.

However, in later years, he had changed the office to show Perrin's influence. The palette turned cool with blues and whites with furniture combining the antique and the modern. Sarek also kept his large chair but with a newer desk. That was because he gave the equally large antique desk to Spock when he became an ambassador. It was, in fact, Solkar's desk first, then given to Stron, then Sarek, and Saavik overheard a very serious conversation between Spock and T'Pren on how it would be her desk one day.

"Father," Saavik began, "I withheld an important detail when I contacted you aboard your ship. In my opinion, it was best discussed in person."

Of course, he was curious. He sat down at his desk and she knew he suspected nothing more than a report.

"My counterpart did not only speak with me. She gave me her memories."

Sarek very carefully placed his hands on the chair arms. He used the same care to speak. "You then know the experiences first hand. You have much to be gratified for."

"Saavik-" Perrin protested at what looked like dangling what he didn't have in front of him.

Saavik held up a hand, silencing her, and then threw the passive discussion to the side. "I have Mother's as well as yours, Spock's, and the children's. My counterpart brought them with her in addition to her own."

"Saavik," Perrin pressured again.

This time, Saavik only focused on Sarek and let her actions answer Perrin. "I came here to give them to you as well, Father."

She heard Perrin's sharp intake of air, but Sarek was silent. Saavik understood that. She held her hand out in the space between them. Rather than hold out his own, he took hers and led it to his face. She did the same with his hand to her psi points.

Her eyelashes drifted down to dust her cheeks at the wealth of his mind and heart, but she came here to give him what he never got to see. Her counterpart had called him cheated. This was all she could do to right it.

Of course, she gave him Amanda's first.

 _Sarek, you're a grandfather. And we have a daughter. And wait, wait until you see our son!_

Then he lived the rest of Amanda's from the beginning, with their son and their grandchildren and their daughter. Then again, from all their views and his own until he had everything.

He held Amanda in his mental grasp, so Saavik withdrew to give him privacy.

"Daughter," he began, but couldn't find the rest.

"I understand, Father." She started to leave, but saw Perrin moving around the sofas to meet her.

Sarek spoke first, "I have an engagement within the hour."

"I will inform your aides to clear your schedule for today and that you will be prepared for tomorrow. After all," Saavik said sincerely, "you are Grandfather, strong enough to shoulder Mount Seleya and with more than enough wisdom for three grandchildren."

"May that be so."

"It is. What is a conference in comparison?"

"Saavik," he called again and she touched his hand. His eyes widened and then calmed, slipping back to the remembrances she gave him.

She found Perrin behind her and waiting, at first with a small smile. "You didn't even ask me. If it would bother me for him to live a new life with Amanda. It never occurred to you."

Saavik leaned her head to the side. "Why should it? It does not change his life with you."

The smile stayed. "You would never be jealous if Spock had such a wife before you?"

She didn't bother pointing out that jealousy was an emotion because Perrin would laugh at that and have reason to; she also didn't point out that it was illogical to speculate on something that hadn't happened. "If our marriage remained what it is, I would have no reason to be negative about a predecessor, even such a one as this."

"Right." The smile disappeared as Perrin's eyes hardened. "Where is Spock?"

"Travelling home after being detained on Earth over the Frubria issue. As you well know."

"And he sent you rather than bring these memories to his father himself. Of course."

Saavik's eyes narrowed and she lowered her voice not to bother Sarek. "I made this decision, Perrin, rather than keep Sarek waiting. I believed it did not prevent the two of them from sharing them." She honestly didn't think one would cancel the other, but now… she could see where it could look like there was no reason for a second meld. "However, I concede your point. Perhaps I should have let Sarek wait for Spock. The error is mine." She drew closer. "I have cautioned you before, Perrin. Do not place yourself between them and do not cause a dispute to grow worse."

"And I told you, I'm very protective of my husband."

"Do you doubt I am any different?" She tried taking the sting from it. "You may wish to see your role on the greater scale. You will be the head of the family at some point, after all."

The color draining from Perrin's face said she hadn't thought of that. "I thought it went to you. You'd be better at it."

"You are ahead of me in the family."

The smile started returning. "I'm abdicating."

Saavik lifted her brows.

 **Vulcan, Sarek's Family Estate**

Saavik asked her husband in a near whisper, "Have you decided?"

The children stayed ahead of them a few steps, a family walk together down a scenic path from their house.

Spock answered her after a beat. "I contacted McCoy."

She didn't understand. They had obviously talked to everyone about the aborted timeline; Frances Stewart, in fact, heard from McCoy about her other self kissing him. "You could have bought me dinner first, you know. I'm not just a piece of meat."

But Spock's reason for contacting his old friend about this topic they discussed; no, she didn't understand. "Why? Surely it only upset him."

"It did. Nevertheless, I believed he had a right to know, especially if we give Setik and the girls their memories. Particularly Setik. They will experience the incident with Boma." Spock's forehead creased with the choice he needed to make and exactly how dangerous it was. "If this was limited to myself discovering it or you, I would immediately agree we should be told. Only..."

"Only it is not us. It is our son and the man he holds high in his esteem. His role model."

Setik moved to his sehlat and slung himself on her back, the pet that McCoy himself picked out as a gift for the boy. His parents quietly watched him at play.

For Saavik, it was another element in her children's lives that inspired awe. They _played_. They read and wrote and spoke and _played_. She honestly had no concept of it and it took her awhile to grasp it when they first asked her to join a game.

"However," Spock continued and his voice rasped, "I want them to have the memories of being with my mother. Of how she instantly loved them and how they danced with her and for her. Of how McCoy demonstrated to Setik how to use his Sickbay. Of how T'Kel and Jim planned a fleet together and how Mr. Scott wanted to sponsor her for the Academy." Saavik said nothing into this pause, knowing he wasn't finished. He wasn't. "Of how my younger father battled with an enemy with worlds on the line for his grandchildren. Of how he was with..."

"Amanda. They should know when their grandparents were Sarek with Amanda."

"My wife. Even the memory of my younger self coming to them at the end. I know the children are quite secure in how much they are wanted in our lives, in how much we want each other. But isn't it an additional positive reinforcement for them to see—"

" _Adun_." Saavik's eyes touched his face everywhere. "I do not disagree with you. The only reason to want Setik exposed to this difficult conflict with McCoy for itself is for him to learn its lesson. However, we both know, unfortunately, how it is true that our children already know such a lesson. They will see it their entire lives including from people they know, even if unconsciously."

He was about to speak when she did. "However. They have all the positive qualities in those memories to learn. Can you not, with your abilities, edit or refrain from the ones you do not want them to see? Perhaps replace or minimize them? T'Selis is an adept of Mount Seleya. Could she not help you?"

He thought about it before slowly nodding. "I will speak with her."

"If nothing else, we will selectively give them the memories we wish and explain away the ones we do not give them."

He quirked an eyebrow. "Explain?"

She matched his attitude. "In a way we have not yet devised."

T'Kel complained from her place a few steps ahead of her parents, "What if I disapprove of her declaration?"

Saavik replied firmly, "You have no reason to disapprove."

Little puffs of dust lifted as the girl's sand shoes landed a little heavily. "He will spend time with _her_ and that takes away from _us_."

" _That_ ," her mother, her forehead scowling, "is selfishness."

"Mr. Nachson is _our_ Fun Uncle."

"It does not make him a possession."

"T'Kel," Spock interceded, ignoring Saavik's look of _About time_! "You have different responsibilities and relationships that make demands on your time. Mr. Nachson is no different and it is no reason to reject Thalla sh'Shytral."

Setik slipped off Ko-Kan to face his mother and father, ever logical. His sehlat stopped when he did and sat down, waiting and watching. "But, Father, what if she does reject him? We have given her our approval and acceptance. We have named her guest-friend."

"Which we will revoke if she is cruel to Mr. Nachson."

"I," Saavik made this declaration, "will make it my responsibility should it happen."

Their son thought this over and then bobbed his head once in positive judgment. They started their walk again and Ko-Kan moved in the middle of the three children. Spock glanced over to his wife and held up three fingers. She disagreed with a shake of her head and held up five.

"So, you _are_ home? For the entire time?" insisted T'Kel again.

 _Three point one four seconds of quiet before T'Kel disturbed it._ Spock won the bet. He wisely found the setting sun of great fascination rather than rub in his victory.

He did reply to their daughter, "For our entire, substantial leave."

"What if," T'Pren had to question, "an emergency arises?"

"Then," Saavik answered, "we deal with it as all families must."

Setik added, "We seem to have a greater share of emergencies than other families."

"It depends on the family," his mother explained. "When compared to others in service, you will find us of average."

Spock's look mocked that.

She ignored him. "You will also find it true for you as well if you each continue with the paths you explore now."

Their son agreed sagely.

"However, such a crisis has not happened and we are, therefore, all yours."

"Following it," Spock added, "your mother and I are scheduled for a diplomatic mission for seven months. Saavik will have opportunities for exploration and discovery as well as she will be the first Starfleet vessel in those systems."

All three children spun around. "Seven months?" asked T'Pren, like it was a death sentence.

"At a minimum." He lifted an eyebrow. "Is it not a good thing for your mother and I not to be separated? We consider ourselves most fortunate."

Saavik ended their misery. "We are equally pleased that you will be with us."

They stared like owls. "We are?" T'Kel asked.

Saavik told herself she shouldn't take pleasure in leaning in and saying, "Clearly." She straightened. "As will tutors to continue your schoolwork."

As would the twins beginning to prepare for the _kahs-wan_ and for Saavik and Spock to tell Setik about _pon farr_. They only hoped they could do it so it didn't seem like a specter over his life. Hard to do with a possible death sentence and a time of insanity, but it was a lesson they had learned like all other Vulcans. Saavik had told Spock she now appreciated Amanda's need to argue with her of not risking her life with meditation to appease the Fires, now that she had that same concern for Setik and the twins.

"We are going with you!" T'Pren announced.

T'Kel declared, "We are going with you on the starship!"

Setik, however, turned his attention to his sehlat and put his hands in Ko-Kan's fur. "Mother, Starfleet allows pets now. Is that not correct?"

 _Damn_. "The regulation is intended for small to medium pets. I do not see Starfleet having sehlats in mind."

"However," came their ever logical son, "the regulation does not _exclude_ sehlats, Mother."

Only seven and they already reached this level of argument. Saavik started her reply when the memory came to her:

 _"Although, my kingdom for a sehlat."_

"I will think further on it." T'Pren started to jump into the fray and Saavik cut her off. "That is my last word for now." _I will have no peace until they have their pet or they are home with her again_. "I remind you of the substantial time this family will have together on this mission."

They obediently went back to their walk. Spock silently suggested another bet of how long T'Kel would stay quiet this time. Saavik refused.

"It is a greater time," T'Kel piped up, "since we will delay our sleep time."

"No," Saavik pronounced, "you will _not_."

"Father," T'Pren started, going for the weaker link, at least where she was concerned. "It is logical to better use our awake time while you are home and on the mission. We can return to our normal routines once we're home again."

Her mother jumped right into that before their youngest had her father giving in. "If this were a democracy, your argument would have carried a majority vote."

They were Vulcan children, so they didn't groan, but their looks conveyed it.

"It is, in fact, a…?"

"Benevolent dictatorship," they chorused.

"Very good. As long as we understand each other."

T'Kel threw an arm around Ko-Kan's neck. "I cannot wait to grow up. No more _rules_."

Saavik began to comment, but Spock smoothly agreed with his daughter. "Adulthood has its advantages. For example, I may have found the red drapes from my former cabin and placed them in the room I share with your mother."

 _The word sensual comes to mind._

" _May_ have found them?" she observed now.

His expression shrugged. Her eyes narrowed deliciously at that; he didn't turn to look at her, but she could tell he noticed.

He had been all superior in that other time too, until…

Saavik returned to the walk ahead. "That would be thought-provoking. It is interesting timing as well as I _may_ have the green uniform dress." Like his other self before, Spock lost all loftiness and fixated on his wife. "Considering my counterpart is not the only one with a Wardrobe department at her disposal."

"You," Spock informed his children of the law of the land, "are going to bed on time."

The corners of Saavik's mouth slid into the tiny smile she reserved for him.

He held out a hand and brushed hers with his fingers when she reached out to him. They held hands, getting disapproval from Setik, but refusing to stop as their children walked, played, and chattered on with their insights and questions like any other family.

* * *

Here we are, one epilogue away from being done. I had to say thank you, to all of you, new readers and longtime ones, new friends and old ones. Thank you for all the support, the reviews, and just for reading. It's been one hell of a journey for me, nearly a year and a half, and it's made its mark here and there in my real life. I'm very excited and very sad. I'll miss it, if that makes sense. But let's finish where we began.


	39. Epilogue

USS _Enterprise_ , Bridge

 _Captain's log, Stardate 3844.9_

The _Enterprise_ is drawing into orbit around Babel. Ambassador Sarek awoke yesterday from his convalescing after his surgery and has been in conference with his aides and allies ever since. Now the delegates can finally begin the formal debate over the explosive issues facing the council over the Coridan matter.

The Babel planetoid was the best thing Kirk had seen in a long while after staring at the Sickbay walls for two days.

"You know, Jim," McCoy argued, standing to the left of the captain's chair, "it doesn't hurt you to have a couple boring days like you just had. Every day doesn't have to be knife fights with undercover Orions."

Kirk protested, "Not knife fights, Bones. I'm not saying someone has to get hurt or killed."

Spock, on his right, spoke thoughtfully. "The Chinese do have a curse. May you live in interesting times."

"The two of you are blowing this out of proportion. I only said it would have been nice for something… all right, interesting to happen."

"Like?"

"Like… we met Spock's parents at the beginning of this mission. So, what if we…"

"What, met his kids? They paid us a visit from the future?"

Kirk's mouth twitched. He hadn't thought of that, but it was a much better answer than his. "It would be interesting."

"It'd be terrifying." McCoy scowled at the Vulcan across from him. "Spock, reproduce? I'm going to need some time to prepare for that… and a place to hide from the new generation of little Vulcan science officers here to rid us of all the joy in our lives."

Kirk couldn't resist. "Who knows, Bones? You might like them better."

McCoy brightened. "Hey!"

Spock flicked up an eyebrow.


End file.
